Hooray For One Shots!
by Mysia Ri
Summary: My one shot collection. Various kinds of shipping and pretty much whatever comes to mind. Puzzleshipping, Tendershipping, Puppyshipping, Bronzeshipping... And featuring Chapter 22: My version of Marik's Back Story! And lots more madness!
1. Distraction

Distraction

"Stop it."

Yugi grumbled, hunched over his desk as Yami tried to distract him from his homework. The shorter teen kept his gaze fixed on his book knowing full and well that if he looked into Yami's eyes, he would melt into a puddle of goo and be carried to bed and Yami would-

'Gah, no!' Yugi thought fiercely, blushing brightly. 'Don't think about it or you won't finish your homework.' His blush deepened feeling Yami's breath on the nape of his neck followed by light kisses.

"I swear to...to RA that if you don't stop, You'll be sleeping downstairs alone, Yami. Quit it. I...I have to finish this."

Threatened, Yami backed off, pouting at his little hikari, biting the tip of his thumb as he contemplated the consequences. Yes, he wanted to drag Yugi to bed and do all the things he knew his lover loved. On the other hand, they couldn't stay up late fooling around because it was a school night.

A smirk formed on his lips and he quickly wrapped his arms around his hikari, kissing while one hand went briefly where he knew it would cause Yugi the most distraction.

"YAMI!" Yugi yelled, trying to slap his yami, but the other was too swift, grabbing a pillow before fleeing the room.

"I regret nothing!" Yami laughed, closing the door behind him before the book Yugi threw at him could reach him. He sighed as he headed downstairs to the back room of the game shop and made himself comfortable on an old couch.

Or as comfortable as one can be sleeping on a couch. Still, seeing the flustered look on Yugi's face was worth a night's discomfort. He finally drifted off, his face half-buried in the pillow, which smelled like Yugi.

An hour later Yami awoke feeling someone squeezing onto the couch with him, drawing a blanket over them both. He smiled, wrapping an arm around Yugi.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you," Yugi murmured, pressing his lips to Yami's.

"I'm sorry for distracting you, aibou. Yami sighed contentedly, burying his nose in Yugi's hair. "Good night, Yugi."

"Good night, mou hitori no boku," Yugi smiled, his face resting against Yami's chest and drifting off to the sound of his heart beat.

* * *

AN: Another one shot. I'm making this one the start of a one-shot collection. Hope you liked it ^^


	2. Karaoke: Ryou and Bakura

AN: Good news is I have an outline for Like Pieces of a Puzzle 2! Nothing written yet though, but I know how it'll go :3

As for this, I got the idea after digging up my old Escaflowne: the Movie Japanese soundtrack. The song (which had a version sung in English so it's not a translation, it's the real song ^_^) is You're Not Alone by Yoko Kanno.

So I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, Escaflowne, the song, or Yoko Kanno.

I turned it into a duet so that I make this extra cute :3

The concept is that, while the sequel is being made, the characters are off singing karaoke. Why is this in the one-shot collection? Because it'll just be a bunch of random one shot in the same setting :x And cause I felt like it. XD Enjoy!

* * *

**Karaoke: Ryou and Bakura**

"Is this the room?" Yugi asked, stopping before a closed, sound-proof door.

Atem double checked the paper he'd received. "Yeah. The others should already be here."

"This was a good idea," Yugi smiled, opening the door. Inside the private room was a karaoke machine set up on a small stage. One small TV was set low facing two microphone stands, a TV was set in the corner beside the stage facing the audience so they could read the words as well. The walls were painted red, the bottom half covered with black swirls and the floor was carpeted black, including the stage.

In front of the stage was a long, black table, chairs along both side. (Thief) Bakura, Ryou, Seto, Jounouchi, Otogi, Anzu, Honda, and Marik all looked toward the door as the look-alike lovers entered.

"Took you long enough," Honda laughed.

"What kept you?" Seto grumbled. Yugi blushed and cleared his throat while Atem rubbed the back of his head. "Never mind, I don't want to know," the CEO sighed.

"What? What happened?" Jounouchi asked, clueless. Seto grabbed the blond's shoulder and whispered into his ear. "Oh god!" he cried, covering his face. As the others laughed at him, Yugi and Yami took their seats.

"So," Anzu stood up with a smile. "Who's going first?" After a moment of silence she put her hands on her hips. "Come on, guys. Don't make me start picking."

"Atem and I just got here so we need a minute to pick a song," Yugi said.

"I'll go," Ryou said, looking at the bored former king of thieves. "Um...it's a duet...would you sing it with me?" he asked.

"I'm not drunk enough to-" as he turned purple eyes to the teen, he found himself caught in the deadly puppy-eyes-and-pouting maneuver. He sighed and got up. "Fine. But I make no promises that I'll enjoy it.

Ryou smiled and ran up the the stage, giving the song information to Anzu. Bakura huffed and fought with the microphone before wresting it free, the stand falling to the ground and the thief not caring enough to pick it up. He gave Ryou a dirty look as he heard the music starting up, deeming it too sweet.

"You sing first," Ryou said, pointing at the screen.

"Ehn." Bakura stared at the screen.

_"I've walked so long  
I can't remember - where was my home?_ _  
Their distance faces fade away  
I'm always on my own._  
_I can show a smile_ _  
It's not hard to do._  
_I can have the strength to go on_ _But sometime I wanna let go of everything._

Che, what is this..."

Ryou smiled, holding the microphone in both hands as his verse started. 

_"When thoughtfulness is not their game_  
_I teach by giving love._ _  
High mountain seems higher endlessly_ _  
When they're pebbles at your feet._ _  
And if you should still fall into despair,_ _  
There is one thing left to believe_ _  
I lie in your heart always."_ As he sang the last line, Ryou faced Bakura and reached a hand out to place it over the thief's heart.

"I-idiot," Bakura muttered, grabbing the teen's wrist.

_"Nothing is braver than honesty_ _  
My life is your faith in me." _Ryou said lowly, a faint blush coloring his cheeks as he continued to sing what should have been sung by them both, but Bakura frowned in annoyance and was too busy glaring daggers at the white haired teen.

_"I'll be there when you need_ _  
You don't have to hide from me._ _  
What you are feeling now_ _  
I fill your soul." _

Bakura finally pushed Ryou's hand off his chest, turning away from him. Disheartened, Ryou continued:

_"We will seek together destiny_ _  
Troubles have an end._  
_We'll carry on hand in hand_  
_You're not alone." _

Feeling defeated, Ryou started to walk away but Bakura suddenly wrapped an arm around his waist and pulled him back against his side so that the teen could still see the screen.

_"People searching desperately outside themselves_ _  
Caught up in thinking of whatever helped._ _  
And I'd forgotten too that love exists inside me as in those I wanted from_ _  
I feel you now." _

Bakura was blushing a bit at this point, but he kept singing with Ryou, wanting him to be happy.

Bakura: _I'll be there------------_

Ryou: _I'll be there when you need_

Bakura: _We will live together._

Ryou (echoing Bakura): _We will live together._

Bakura: _Nothing is in our way_

Ryou / Bakura: _Nothing is in our way! / With trust in our soul._

Bakura: _We will seek together destiny_ _  
Troubles have an end._ (Bakura moved his hand from Ryou's side to cover his heart, hugging him a little closer)

Ryou: _We will carry on hand in hand _(Ryou closed his hand over Bakura's and smiled, closing his eyes.)

Bakura: _We won't forget we have each other._

Bakura and Ryou: _Never!_

Ryou:_Love is in the hearts of all men_  
_ You're not alone._

As the song ended the others clapped for the pair and they made their way back to their seats, Bakura shoving his microphone into Anzu's hands. Atem smiled at Bakura and the thief growled at him.

"Shut up."

"I didn't say anything," Atem said, resting his elbows on the table and lacing his fingers. He leaned forward a bit and rested his chin on his fingers, still smiling- no, smirking!- at the thief.

"Shut up!" Bakura snapped again, blushing a bit and slouching back in his seat. "I just hate it when this one gets mopey," he said, jerking a thumb to his left at a happy Ryou.

Atem shrugged, turning his eyes back to his lover, who was trying to pick out a song for them. Bakura let his arms hang limply as he stared at the ceiling. He felt Ryou's fingers against his left palm and closed his hand, lacing his fingers with the teen's under the table.

* * *

AN: And there you go. My first (second if you count the second epilogue of Like Pieces of a Puzzle) little bit of tendershipping (this is tendershipping right? Ryou/Bakura? . Correct me if I'm wrong :3)

Hope you liked it! *ninja-poof*


	3. Dying Wish

AN: Sad story time. But it has a good ending. My first try at writing Atem and Heba (which is what a lot of fanfics call slave-Yugi-in-the-past so I'm rolling with it :p). Got this idea at work. Don't be surprised if another one shot materializes later. _;;

* * *

The Pharaoh, Atem, was well known for his fairness. Despite his young age, he was well liked and respected by most, rich and poor, noble and slave.

Perhaps that is how such a tragedy could occur.

After the creation of the Millennium Items during the rule of Pharaoh Aknamkanon, many had been found to posses powerful Ka spirits, though many were unaware of such things. The Pharaoh and the Priests who held the Millennium Items and scared disks could summon numerous spirits to their aid from their temples. Others, with dedicated training or in times of strife, could also summon such creatures.

The Pharaoh himself could, with his Millennium Puzzle and knowing the true names, summon the gods themselves. This, however, was unnecessary in this quiet age.

Even in times of peace, however, disturbances occurred and criminals needed to be judged. Rulers of neighboring areas and allies needed to be assured that the Pharaoh, while young, was still a powerful ruler. And a young Pharaoh needed to ride his personal steed from time to time to keep his skill sharp and feel the dry heat of the sun and the cool waters of the Nile.

Pharaoh Atem was escorted to the stables by one of his childhood friend and currently one of his High Priests, Mahado. Behind him, Mahado's apprentice, another of the Pharaoh's childhood friends, Mana laughed, her hands behind her back.

"We haven't been out riding together in a long time," Mana laughed.

"It is only so that the Pharaoh can get his exercise," Mahado said, looking down at Mana.

"Mahado, it is alright," Atem smiled. "Besides, if you call it exercise, I might not enjoy it."

Mana laughed as her master sighed. A guard opened the door to the stables for them and the Pharaoh moved to his horse, holding a hand to it's nose for a moment before petting it's soft muzzle. He heard the guard barking orders to the slaves to ready his horse and two others and let out a quiet sigh, turning to the exit to get out of the way.

"Prince!" Mana suddenly screeched, her voice almost drowned out by one of the stallions suddenly running rampant, charging for the young Pharaoh. Before he could even move, he felt hands pushing him out of the way and landed on something warm and soft. In the ensuing chaos, he looked first to what he had landed on.

The creature, which he knew could only be a Ka spirit, was little more than a brown furball with large, amethyst and gold eyes and green-skinned, clawed hands and feet. It chirped at him, sounding in pain and he thought that someone he had hurt it until he turned his gaze to where he had been standing a moment before.

A young slave, his hair similar in color but falling about his shoulders, lay broken and bleeding, the stallion being reigned in by two other slaves. Atem stared at the slave, realizing that the other had saved his life and losing his own. He cried out for Mahado, but the High Priest was already beside him, helping the Pharaoh to his feet.

"Isis! Send for Priestess Isis!" Atem shouted, Mahado racing out of the stables to fetch the Priestess. 'Isis' Ka spirit can save him,' he thought, stumbling over to the fallen slave and dropping to his knees before him, ignoring the protests of the guards and the claims that it was only a slave. The Ka spirit that had broken his fall stood beside the teen, chirping sadly and Atem felt a surge of nausea as he carefully gathered the small slave into his arms, willing him to be well. To open his eyes and speak to him.

Slowly, amethyst eyes peered up at him and he felt a moment of relief and hope that the slave would be alright.

"M-my...Pharaoh..." the slave managed, wincing as it hurt to breathe. "Y-you sh-...shouldn't be-"

"Hush," he soothed, tears glistening in his own violet eyes. He gripped one of the teen's hands. "What do they call you? Please...I must know..." Atem pleaded, which shocked those hovering nearby. The slave tried to respond but only managed to cry out in agony.

"Heba," another slave, a tall, blond slave with brown eyes, spoke up, shrinking from the guard that raised his whip.

"Thank you," Atem said both in gratitude and to assure the guard that no punishment was required. "Heba..." he said the name, gently cradling Heba against him. "You will be mended soon. The high Priestess can-"

"N-no," Heba said, shaking against the Pharaoh's chest. The look in his eyes told Atem that he would not be with him much longer. "P-please....Pharaoh....D-do not waste....pity on...this one..."

Atem shook his head. Heba....this young, handsome...beautiful even slave was dying. Dying because of him. Dying and Atem could only sit here in the mud, among other things, and hold his hand tightly as if doing so would allow him to hold on longer.

"What can I do..." Atem breathed. "There must be something I can do for you. Name it and I will see that it is done immediately."

Heba looked up at the Pharaoh. Into his eyes, which normally would have been punished with death. He seemed to hesitate.

"Anything," Atem repeated. "You have saved my life. It is the least I can do."

Heba trembled again as a wave of pain tore through him. When he spoke, his voice was a quiet whisper. Atem drew closer to him to try and hear.

"Kiss?" the Pharaoh asked.

"What!?" the guard roared. "Surely you misunderstood him, great Pharaoh. Surely-" he stopped when Atem have him a warning glance.

"A kiss. Is that all you desire?" Atem asked again, peering into Heba's pleading eyes. "A kiss. It doesn't seem enough..." Atem brought his mouth down on Heba's and kissed him gently, letting his lips linger for a moment longer. When he looked down at the slave again, he was smiling, his eyes closed. He let out a shuddering sigh, going limp in Atem's arms.

The Pharaoh closed his eyes, pressing his forehead against Heba's, a few tears escaping to rain down on the teen's face. Slowly Atem rose, lifting the corpse with him and carrying him out of the stables, a crying Mana following him.

"Mana, please find the one who told me Heba's name and have him brought to my chambers. I wish to speak with him.

Mana squeaked. "Is that a good idea? If Priest Se-"

"I will speak with him, I don't care what Seth has to say about it," Atem growled, carrying Heba back to the Palace. He looked back to realize the brown furball was following him, chirping sadly. "You will not be forgotten, Heba. I will not let your name be forgotten." He felt tears running down his cheek and pressed a kiss tothe slave's forehead. He couldn't describe what he was feeling now. He had only just met Heba, yet seeing him die he had felt like a part of his soul had died with him. As if the tears he cried now would never cease to fall.

And his only consolation was that Heba had died with a smile on his lips.

* * *

3000 (or 5000) years later:

Yami and Anzu walked through the Egyptian exhibit after the date Yugi had set him up on. Because of Anzu he had the courage to come here and look for answers to his forgotten past, Yugi's soul hiding within the Millennium Puzzle to give them privacy.

They had just spoken to Isis about history repeating itself and she had turned to leave when he stopped her.

"Ms. Ishtar," he said, his eyes fixed on a small set of hieroglyphics. Something about them had caught his attention. "What does this say?"

Isis gave him a sad smile. "You already know, Pharaoh. Though you may have forgotten the language, you know in your heart what it says." The grave keeper turned and headed upstairs.

Yami stared a moment longer, feeling tears stinging his eyes. "Heba..." he whispered. He suddenly lifted the Millennium Puzzle and smiled.

"Heba? What does that mean?" Anzu asked.

Yami smiled and turned away. "Let's go."

"What? Yugi!? What does it mean?" Anzu pouted, following after Yami.

'Heba. We meet again,' Yami thought, smiling and pressing a kiss to the top of the Millennium Puzzle. 'This time, however, I will protect you. I swear it.'

* * *

AN: Well, it was sad and all. Just a stray idea. I had another one too involving Heba and Atem. Maybe I'll write that tonight too.

Also, you'll notice the link at the bottom of the page that says "Review this Story/Chapter"? It would be awesome if you clicked on it and let me know what you think :3 3 I see a lot of traffic on my stories but I only have a few reviews. :x I'm not begging for reviews, but I do like input ^_^

That being said, review or don't review, so long as you keep reading, I'll keep writing :D

*ninja-vanishes to write some more*


	4. Thunderstorm

AN: Tiny bit of tender shipping! . *runs off to write more*

* * *

Ryou hated thunder storms.

It wasn't the rain that bothered him. He loved taking walks in the rain, even in a down pour.

It wasn't even the lightening. Well, when it was distant and the sky flashed briefly, not when it cut across the sky and frightened him.

It was the thunder. The sharp cracks like a whip, the low grumbles like an animal waiting to pounce. There wasn't one aspect of thunder that the teen could enjoy.

As Ryou lay under his sheets, he drew them tighter around his lithe form and squeezed his eyes shut, trying in vain to fall asleep. He felt tears rising up, a mix of fear and shame for being afraid. In the past, his yami would take over when he was scared, chew him out, and fall fast asleep in minutes. He almost missed those days on nights like this.

But Bakura had his own body now. And his own room.

"He's probably sleeping like a rock while I'm laying here crying like a child," Ryou sighed, rolling over as though doing so would make the thunder sound less threatening. Chocolate eyes glanced at the clock and closed again. 'It's almost three in the morning. I'm going to be a zombie at school tomorrow.' He cringed as another bang of thunder shook the house and , pulled the blankets over his head.

After several moments Ryou felt the bed shifting and the blankets being tugged back. Before he could react, he was pulled back against a warm body, strong arms locking around his waist.

"Calm down, you idiot. It's just me."

Ryou blushed, his arms settling over the thief's.

"Why are you here?" he asked softly.

"Cause I knew you'd be in here crying," Bakura shrugged, the movement pulling Ryou a bit closer to him. He sighed and closed his eyes. "Now go to sleep."

Ryou laid still for a moment, still blushing. Finally he squirmed a bit in the thief's grip, turning to face the yami and resettling against him, trembling slightly as the storm growled again.

"Shut up! We're trying to sleep!" Bakura shouted towards the window. Ryou couldn't help the small laugh that escaped him and he settled under Bakura's chin.

"Thank you..."

"Che, just go to sleep already, would ya?" Bakura muttered, one hand combing through his hikari's hair while the other held him close. The former king of thieves smiled as his Ryou fell asleep against him. Unlike his other smiles, this one was filled with warmth and love.

"Maybe one day..." he murmured against the soft whiteness of the other's hair. "...Che, who am I kidding..." he sighed, kissing the top of Ryou's head and falling asleep himself.


	5. Love

AN: Mentions of Puzzleshipping and tendershipping, but mostly puppyshipping. And it is heavily implied that Seto and Jounouchi are having sex, but I don't think it counts as a lemon since it's just a brief implication.

* * *

Love.

It was the one ideal that everyone wanted in the world. But there were so many different ways of expressing it.

When we are younger, love doesn't make sense to us. Usually, our mommy and daddy (or our 2 mommies or are 2 daddies) are in love love with each other. But when we first fall in love in the playground sandbox, we don't know what love feels like. So sometimes we torment the person who makes us feel funny if only to make them notice us.

Sometimes, though, children don't grow up seeing the love between parents. They grow up not knowing what this love thing is. It's just a four letter word, and we're told that a lot of four letter words are bad. Without an example of love, we sit in the sandbox and watch the other kids playing. It doesn't' mean they are incapable of love, however. If they have any family that cares about them, they know that they love that person because they are family. Just that sometimes learning to love someone outside of their family as more than a friend can be tricky.

Yugi Mutou had found more than the love of friends when he had completed the Millennium Puzzle. He had found the love of his life: the mysterious, nameless Pharaoh called Yami. Their's was an obvious, loving, nurturing love that was warm and soft, strong but gentle.

Ryou Bakura had found love as well with the spirit of the Millennium Ring, who just went by Bakura. Ryou and Bakura's love was somehow balanced though they initially seemed incompatible. Ryou was gentle and nurturing. Bakura was loud and crass. When placed together, however, their discordant harmony created a beautiful love and they supported and protected one another.

Sometimes.

Sometimes love was confusing.

* * *

Seto grabbed the front of Jounouchi's jacket and slammed him back against a wall, piercing blue eyes glaring into hard brown.

"Mutt."

Jounouchi grabbed Seto's wrists and pushed him away angrily, their eyes locked onto each other.

"Rich ass."

Seto's hands twisted free and grabbed Jounouchi's wrists, pinning his hands to the wall behind him. The blond brought a foot up and planted it against Seto's stomach, pushing him away but not aiming to hurt him. Free again, he grabbed the brunette by his jacket, whirling him around and slamming him against the wall, quickly swooping in to press a bruising kiss to Seto's mouth.

Seto allowed the kiss for seven seconds before grabbing Jou's wrists and pushing off the wall, the two locked in a strange dance from the wall to the bed before Seto pinned Jounouchi on his back, a soft snarl on his lips.

"Mutt."

This time Seto pressed a bruising kiss to the blond's lips, the man beneath him struggling in vain, wrists pinned to either side of his head. The CEO moved his lips to Jounouchi's neck, kissing and nipping at the sensitive skin. The blond made his move, catching Seto off guard and pinning him back on the bed.

"Bastard..."

The kiss was forceful at first, tongues waging war as Seto managed to be on top again, sliding a knee to firmly rest between Jounouchi's legs. The other teen gasped at the feeling and Seto smirked, removing his mouth long enough to catch his breath.

"Hate you," Jounouchi breathed before he was kissed again, his hands moving to grab Seto's jacket again, this time pushing it off.

"Ditto," Seto growled, breaking the kiss to sit back and discard the jacket.

With a grin, Jounouchi sat up and removed his own, tossing it somewhere behind him and grabbing Seto's shirt.

They were just getting started.

The pair rolled about on the bed, clothing slowly vanishing between then until there was none left and Seto had pinned a struggling Jounouchi on his stomach, both of them panting and sweating and fully aroused from their "foreplay". Seto brought his mouth to Jounouchi's ear as he took him, nipping at it sharply.

"Katsuya..." The CEO chuckled. "A mutt named Kat. That's amusing."

Jounouchi growled to cover the moan that escaped him. "Shut up, Seto."

* * *

Seto laid on his back and stared up at the ceiling, sun peeking through a gap in the heavy curtains and cutting a bright streak across the bed, ironically separating himself and his lover. The brunette smirked and sat up finally, swinging his legs off the side of the bed, wincing as a luxurious stretch pained bruised muscles but knowing that by that evening the pain would be forgotten.

Strong arms wrapped around his chest from behind and he smirked knowing, reaching an arm back to pet the blond.

"I'm going to take a shower," he announced, standing up. Jounouchi got up and soundlessly followed after him. Once in the shower, they shared a different kind of love. A moment's sweetness that almost rivaled that of Yami and Yugi. A rare moment where they both acknowledged that they needed the other to love them as they were at that moment.

Afterwards, they ate breakfast, a softened blue meeting a honey brown. Mokuba knew he had heard them fighting last night. He never would understand what kind of love they had, but the young Kaiba knew that was what they had. He had a reference, one his brother hadn't had.

* * *

"Have a good day at school, Moki," Jounouchi grinned, patting the teen on the head. Seto hugged his brother and they watched as he climbed out of the limo. The brunette and the blond sat in silence until they had almost reached the high school.

"Lunch?"

"Yeah. Meet you on the roof?" Jou asked. Seto nodded and they shared a brief kiss. And then another and a third before the blond pushed the CEO almost playfully and hopped out of the limo and went into the school building without a glance back at the brunette.

Seto smirked, heading to work.

* * *

AN: There we are, a puppyshipping one shot. Opinions? Thoughts? Concerns?

Remember, all flames will be used to toast marshmallows and turning into tasty smores to be fed to Yugi and Ryou by Yami and Bakura respectively. :3


	6. Karaoke: Seto and Jou

AN: It's Karaoke Night Part 2! This time it's "My Life Would Suck Without You" by Kelly Clarkson.

And no, I don't own Kelly Clarkson nor, on that note, could I possibly own a song sung by her. Cause then I would be rich.

And if you noticed, Yu-Gi-Oh is still more card games than it is yaoi so that should tell you I still don't own it. XD

* * *

"So, who's next?" Anzu asked, holding out the microphone Bakura had given her. Just as she was going to start ranting, Jounouchi stood up, handing her the song information he had written down and taking the microphone.

"Guess I'll give it a shot," he said with a grin, taking his place before the monitor.

"This should be good for a laugh," Seto smirk, raising his drink. "Serenade us, mutt."

Before Jounouchi could take Seto's bait, Anzu cued up the song. The blond swallowed hard, hoping he wasn't making a mistake.

_"Guess this means you're sorry  
You're standing at my door  
Guess this means you take back  
All you said before"_

Seto fell silent, piecing blue eyes watching Jounouchi carefully.

"_Like how much you wanted  
Anyone but me  
Said you'd never come back  
But here you are again"_

Jounouchi glared at Seto as he sung the next part.

"_'Cause we belong together now, yeah  
Forever united here somehow, yeah  
You got a piece of me  
And honestly,  
My life (my life) would suck (would suck) without you"_

As he sang the chorus, the brunette rose and came onto the stage. Everyone (excluding Bakura because he didn't care) got to their feet, expecting to have to break up a fight, but Seto merely took the other microphone in hand and sang the next verse.

"_Maybe I was stupid for telling you goodbye  
Maybe I was wrong for tryin' to pick a fight  
I know that I've got issues  
But you're pretty messed up too "_

Seto poked Jounouchi on the forehead, the blond frowning and batting the hand away.

_  
"Either way, I found out I'm nothing without you"_ Seto smirked.

Seto:_ "'Cause we belong together now,"_

Jou: _"Yeah"_

Seto: _"Forever united here somehow,"_

Jou: _"Yeah"_

Seto: _"You got a piece of me"_

Jou: _"And honestly,"_

Seto: _"My life-"_

Jou: _"My life-"_

Seto: _"Would suck-" _

Jou: _"Would suck-" _

Seto and Jou: _"Without you!"_

Jou: "_Being with you  
Is so dysfunctional"_

As Jounouchi sang, he got closer to Seto, his face only inches from the brunette's. Seto sang the next part of the verse.

"_I really shouldn't miss you  
__But I can't let you go  
Oh yeah "_

Seto wrapped his free arm around Jounouchi's waist and kissed him roughly, the blond grabbing the back of his head during the bridge. Everyone in the room gaped at them, not expecting that twist. Suddenly Jounouchi broke the kissing and they shared Jounouchi's microphone.

Jou: _"'Cause we belong together now, yeah"_

Seto: _"Forever united here somehow, yeah"_

Jou: _"You got a piece of me"_

Seto: _"And honestly,  
My life-" _

Jou: _"My life!-" _

Seto: _"Would suck-" _

Jou: _"Would suck!-" _

Seto and Jou: _"Without you!"_

Seto: _"'Cause we belong together now, yeah"_

Jou: _"Forever united here somehow, yeah"_

Seto: _"You got a piece of me"_

Jou: _"And honestly,  
My life-" _

Seto pushed the microphone away and kissed Jounouchi again, letting his own mic fall to the floor as the song finished playing. The pair returned to their seats, Jounouchi moving his chair closer to Seto.

Yugi was the first to finally find his voice, but the words that came out weren't the ones he meant to say.

"That was hot."

Yami nodded wordlessly in agreement, holding a napkin to his nose to stop the small nose bleed he'd developed. Ryou sighed, leaning his head onto Bakura's shoulder while Otogi and Honda were beyond dumbstruck. Marik shrugged, turning his attention back to the music menu.

Anzu fanned herself with his hand and wondered how "Operation: Karaoke" had turned into "Yaoi Night!"

* * *

AN: Hope you liked that. I'm still working on the next part of "Like Pieces of a Puzzle 2". Almost done with it, but I came across this song and it was put to pictures of Seto and Jou and was inspired. XD

*Crawls into bed*


	7. Where Did This Beanstalk Come From?

AN: This is something that came to me while I was at work today. Implied shippings.

Also, contrary to what you might think when you start reading, this is not an AU fic. You'll see.

* * *

**Where Did This Beanstalk Come From?**

Long ago in ancient Egypt, there was a kind and good Pharaoh named Aknamkemon. The Pharaoh wanted his people to live in peace and to avoid conflict.

The Pharaoh's twin brother wanted to help his brother, but thought he was foolish in his attempts to avoid fighting. So, while the Pharaoh was distracted with his new-born son, his brother devised a plan.

He gathered a small group of soldiers and priests and they traveled to a city that he deemed would not be missed. The soldiers were tricked into killing everyone in the village so that their bodies could, with the use of advanced alchemy, be turned into gold, melted down, and used to force powerful items that would allow them to control creatures of great power.

But the soldiers missed one, young boy named Tozokuo Bakura.

Many years later, the Pharaoh had passed away and his son, Atem, ascended to the throne. Tozokuo Bakura appeared before the young Pharaoh and an epic battle was waged.

In the aftermath of their fight, the Pharaoh went missing and the surviving High Priests, along with their Millennium Items, went into hiding. The people were left living in poverty and times were hard.

Especially for the three Kaiba brothers, the oldest a meager sixteen years. They were down to their last meal, which was little more than hard bread, weak tea, and a bowl of hot water with a handful of herbs tossed in.

The youngest, his black hair long and unkempt, grumbled a little as he finished his soup. "I'm still hungry..."

"I know, Mokuba," the eldest replied sadly, resting a gentle hand on his brother's head.

"I'll go back to the city tomorrow, Seto. Maybe I can try to find some work," the middle Kaiba, barely a year younger than the eldest, offered, nibbling at his bread. His hair was gold, black, and magenta and stood up at odd angles forming something like a star.

"We need a more immediate solution, Yugi," Seto replied, sitting back in his chair and sighing. "I'm afraid we don't have a choice."

"You mean...?" Yugi frowned, looking toward the window.

"We can't! He's family!" Mokuba shouted, hands slamming on the table. Seto sighed, shaking his head.

"Even more reason for us to sell him. We can barely feed ourselves. He deserves a chance to find a more stable home." Seto hugged Mokuba. "I don't like it either, but we have to sell our dog.

The three brothers went outside to where their family pet was tethered to a tree. He looked up at them with soulful, honey-brown eyes, standing on two legs as the brothers approached and clentching his hands into fists, grinning brightly.

"Bark bark bark!" The dog said, latching onto Seto's waist tightly. The eldest Kaiba sighed sadly and patted the top of the dog's head.

"Down, Katsuya," he said, grabbing their pet by his shoulders and pushing him back. Even though he hadn't eaten any better than his owners, the dog's skin seemed to hang off him and his face seemed youthful.

"Poor Katsuya," Yugi said, scratching the dog behind one ear, laughing at it flapped limply and Katsuya leaned into the touch.

"Mokuba, you need to be the one to take him into town. Try to get as much as you can for him and buy some vegetables. Then come straight home, you understand?" Seto asked.

Mokuba looked up at his brothers, tears in his gray eyes.

"We know. It isn't fair, Mokuba. We don't want to give him up either, but this is the only way," Yugi said sadly.

"Hurry along now, Mokuba. Try to be back before sundown."

"Alright, Seto," the young Kaiba pouted, untying Katsuya's leash and taking one of the dog's hands. The two older Kaibas watched until Mokuba was a speck in the distance before going inside to clean and try to figure out what they would do for money.

* * *

Mokuba returned just after the sun had set, smiling brightly and holding a small bag in his hands. He grinned at his brothers.

"Mokuba? What's that you have there?" Yugi asked.

"That's too small to be the vegetables we asked you to pick up," Seto frowned. "And that had better not be all the money you got for Katsuya."

Mokuba shook his head and put his hand in the bag. "I've got something better!" He held up three pieces of paper, fanned out so that his brothers could see what each of them were.

Yugi covered his face with his palm. "Mokuba...you didn't...."

Seto snatched the cards from his young brother and sighed. "What are these things?"

"They're magic cards!" Mokuba grinned. "After I looked around for someone to buy Katsuya, this guy said he would trade me for some magic cards! He said that they could grant wishes and....and..." Mokuba trailed off, the excitement bleeding out of his and Seto glared at him, a dangerous smirk on his face.

"You traded out beloved Katsuya...for some pieces of paper?"

"Now Seto, mind your blood pressure..." Yugi said, reaching a hand to trying and calm Seto down. "Look, we'll go back to town tomorrow and try to find that guy and get Katsuya back."

Seto trembled with rage, throwing the cards out the window. After giving a final glare to Mokuba, he stormed to the bedroom and slammed the door.

"I messed up big time..." Mokuba whimpered. Yugi sighed, petting his little brother.

"We'll fix this in the morning. Let's get ready for bed."

Outside, the cards floated to the ground like leaves, resting next to their small home.

* * *

Yugi awoke first the next morning, as he was wont to do. As he moved to get out of bed, he couldn't help but notice that the floor was tilted. And that his bed was sandwiched between Seto's and Mokuba's. He reached over and shook Seto's shoulder, the brunette grumbling something about needing a squeegee.

"Seto...Seto wake up, something's wrong."

Seto rolled over, blinking sleepily up at Yugi. "What could possibly be worse than what Mokuba did last night?"

"The house is crooked."

"...Oh..." Seto sat up, rubbing the sleep from his blue eyes and looking out the window. "And it's foggy outside..." he sighed, climbing across Yugi and Mokuba's bed and heading outside to inspect the situation.

"Mokuba, get up," Yugi said, shaking the youngest Kaiba. Mokuba awoke easier than Seto and they quickly followed after their brother, finding him standing outside their house in shock.

And they, too, were shocked to find that their small house had been tangled in a large beanstalk and was now on level with the clouds. After much debate, the brothers decided to explore and see if they could find an answer as to why.

The three Kaibas came across a huge castle, far larger than a normal man would ever need. They easily managed to slip under the door and were instantly greeted with the most heavenly aromas of foods that put their wildest dreams to shame. As they were famished, they could hardly resist helping themselves to some of the over-sized food, Seto insisting that they consume meats and vegetables before trying any of the pastries or fruits.

Something caught Yugi's eye as he was meandering around the massive foods, a handful of cheese hovering before his lips. He left his brothers to their discussion of what Mokuba should and shouldn't be eating. Sitting on the far end of the table was a large, elegant looking cage trimmed in gold and jewels.

Yugi rested his hands on the bars of the cage and peered in at a regal looking man with hair like his own. The man's skin was darker than Yugi's and was several inches taller than him. As Yugi stared in awe, the man's eyes opened, deep crimson meeting amethyst. The man blinked at Yugi in confusion before rushing toward him, covering the middle Kaiba's hands with his own.

"What are you doing here?" he hissed, looking around wildly. "Don't you know the danger you are in?"

Yugi shook his head, bewildered.

"This is the home of Tozokuo Bakura! He has used the power of the Millennium Ring to become a giant! If he catches you here, little on, he will kill you!" The man reached a hand through the bars to pet Yugi's cheek.

"Who are you?"

Yugi looked back to see his brothers had come to inspect as well. The man lifted the chain around his neck to show them his large pendant, which resembled an upside-down pyramid with an eye on it.

"My name is Atem, former Pharaoh of Egypt. What are you all doing here?"

Before they could answer, the ground rumbled and shook.

"He's home!" Atem hissed. "Hide yourselves! Quickly!" The Pharaoh gave Yugi's hand a squeeze before he ran back to the middle of his cage and feigned sleep. The brothers quickly ran in separate directions, trying their best to hide.

A deep, gloating laugh filled the castle as it's owner came to the table, something cradled in one hand. He set it down beside the Pharaoh's cage.

"Bark! Bark! Bark bark!" Katsuya shouted up at the giant, standing on two legs. The giant had pale skin and white hair that pointed down in various directions, trailing half way down his back with part of his bangs angling up like bat wings. He wore a white and blue striped shirt and black pants, the Millennium Ring handing against his chest. He laughed and pointed at the dog.

"Look, Atem, I brought you a pet," Bakura said, placing his other hand on top of Atem's cage and shaking it. "I'll turn him into a human so you can have someone to talk to." As he spoke, the Millennium Ring glowed brightly. Katsuya stopped barking and, as the Kaiba brother's watched in disbelief, the dog straightened up and unzipped the front of his chest, his fur falling away. He stepped out of his skin wearing a typical Japanese high school uniform, the jacket open to reveal a white shirt. Katsuya hummed a bit as he folded the costume neatly and set it aside, running a hand through his blond hair before yelling up at the giant Bakura.

"Hey! You turned me into a human!? What's the big idea!?"

"Incredible," Atem breathed. "That the Millennium Ring has such power..."

"Oh hey! Who are you?" Katsuya ran over to the Pharaoh's cage and smiled brightly at him. "My name's Katsuya! Let's be friends!"

Seto stared Katsuya slack-jawed. As if sensing this, the blond looked around suddenly and rushed over to where Seto hid, tackling him. Yugi, Mokuba, and Atem cringed as Katsuya kissed Seto's face happily.

"Master Seto! I missed you so much!"

Bakura reached down and picked up both Katsuya and Seto, chuckling. "Looks like you have two friends now, Atem. And probably more." He opened a small door on the front of the cage and dropped in Atem's new playmates, closing it before beginning his search for more intruders.

"F-I-N-A-L," Bakura snickered, sniffing around as he moved things around the table. "When I find you, you're going to Hell."

Yugi motioned to Mokuba and the brothers rushed to the cage. Seto clapped a hand over Katsuya's mouth while Yugi got Mokuba up on his shoulders and lifted him up to the door. The youngest Kaiba managed to lift the latch and the door fell open, it's occupants making a quick escape.

Atem motioned for the other's to follow him and the were soon on the floor, running for the exit. Bakura spotted them and laughed.

"You can't escape from me!" the white haired giant called, catching up to them quickly, easily gathering them into his hands and laughing wildly as he started to squeeze-

* * *

"*** **** ******* son of a ***** you ******* idiot!!!!" Bakura yelled at Ryou, shaking his former host so violently that if the teen hadn't been expecting this reaction, he was sure his neck would have snapped. "Why did you wake me up!? I was having the best dream!"

"I know. And so do our neighbors," Ryou sighed, remembering the three angry phone calls demanding he end the party. 'Oh if only it were a party...'

"What are you talking about?"

"You were laughing in your sleep," the teen explained. He thought about this a moment. "Really it was more like maniacally cackling with glee. That laugh you get when you're planning on how to kill something...or succee-...Were you killing the Pharaoh in your dreams again?"

"Che, not like you'll let me do it for real," the thief sulked, releasing Ryou from his death grip.

"What am I going to do with you," Ryou sighed, hands coming to rest on his hips and shaking his head.

* * *

Yami awoke with a gasp, panting heavily and letting reality come crashing back around him.

"A dream..." he sighed, wiping his forehead. Yugi stirred on his chest, grumbling a bit but remaining asleep. Yami looked up at the television to find it showing nothing but static and took stock of the

discarded candy wrappers and half-eaten bag of popcorn.

"No more junk food before bed," he muttered, petting Yugi's hair.

* * *

Mokuba crept into his brother's room and crawled into the large, four poster bed on his brother's side. As he got settled, Seto stirred a bit and gave his brother and loving pat on the head. He glanced back at a fitful Jounouchi, reaching his hand back to touch the blond's arm. Like a Venus fly trap, his arm was attached to and Katsuya seemed pacified back into a peaceful sleep.

Seto sighed, getting comfortable and returning to his own dream: beating Yami in a card game.

* * *

AN: That was incredibly silly. I hope you enjoyed it. XD

And yes, the dog was Jounouchi in a dog suit the whole time. Like the one he wore in the anime.  
Also, I wanted to have Bakura say "D-E-A-T-H" instead of "F-I-N-A-L" but I coudlnt' think of anything to rhyme with "H". :p


	8. Speechless

AN: Today's secret word is Elinguation! *Writes it up on a chalk board*

This idea kinda made me sad. I tried to keep it from being too graphic (cause the whole thing kinda made me wince while writing it :p). There's a happy ending though, I promise!

Puzzle- and puppyshipping. Somehow I've become a puppy addict D: Help!

* * *

Elinguation. It wasn't an unfamiliar term in the ancient civilizations. It was deemed the just punishment for those bearing false witness, speaking perjury, uttering heresy, and other spoken crimes. After all, if you remove the tongue that spoke such atrocity, then you solved the problem and punished the speaker.

It was just a word to some, however. A word that was tied to a punishment. A word that the young slave was becoming intimate with at the command of one of the Pharaoh's High Priests, Akhenadin.

The Priest watched as the blond slave was dragged before him and forced onto his knees, brown eyes glaring up at the wielder of the Millennium Eye.

"Slave, you should thank me," he priest sneered, looking down at the young slave as though he were a pile of manure. "I should have you put to death for your insolence. You have spoken ill of High Priest Seth since you were brought here, have even made remarks to his face. After tonight, however, you will do so no more."

The slave snarled. "As long as I draw breath-" he began, but was cut off as a guard struck him on the back of the head. Akhenadin drew a small, curved dagger, running the blade over the flames of a nearby torch as one of the guards pried the slave's mouth open. A second guard knelt behind the blond teen and pinned his arms to his sides, holding him still. A third grabbed his tongue and pierced the tip with a hook, pulling the muscle out as far as he could, seeming to take pleasure in his cries of pain.

Akhenadin approached with the heated blade and, without hesitation, removed the offending muscle, turning away and leaving the guards to attend to the screaming teen.

* * *

Seth's desk was often covered in various scrolls and tomes of varying topics, from the mundane to the most private matters of Egypt. As he bent to his work for the day, he heard a soft knock on the door to his chambers.

"Enter." Without looking up, he added," you will go to High Priest Mahado and ask him for the scrolls pertaining to Set Maat that he has. Afterwards, seek out High Priestess Isis and ask her for the same. Return here immediately after, scrolls in hand."

"Y-yes...High Priest Seth."

Seth sat up and looked at the slave who was respectfully backing out of the room. He was a short male with multicolored hair and pale skin.

"Wait." Seth rose, moving to stand before the slave, who immediately and respectfully dropped to his knees. "Why isn't Katsuya here?"

The small slave faltered a bit, trembling at the icy tone in the priest's voice. "H-he...M-my lord, you do not know?" The slave squeaked as Seth suddenly gripped his shoulders, hauling him to his feet and glaring into his eyes.

"I would not have _asked_ if I did. Where is he?"

The teen swallowed, eyes darting to stare at a point above Seth's shoulder. "Last night...he was taken away by two guards. I...I do not know what happened to him, but when he was dragged-" Seth's eyes narrowed at this-" back to his quarters, he was gasping for breath and this morning was found...unfit to preform his duties..."

Seth growled, pushing the short slave toward the door. "Take me to him."

* * *

Katsuya lay on his small cot, facing the wall and tangled in his sheets. He had barely moved since the night before, the pain from his punishment still fresh and making it hard to even swallow. He had stopped making pained noises, but tears still choked him when he woke from fitful sleep.

Other slaves had looked in on him, but none could offer any comfort. One promised to return with herbs once his chores were done for the day, but until then he could only lay in silent torment.

A familiar hand grabbed his arm, forcing him to lay on his back before moving to rest on his brow.

"Why are you ill?" the High Priest Seth asked him, the faintest hint of warmth in his icy tone. Katsuya closed his eyes and rolled away, certain that Seth knew what had happened. How could he not? Katsuya had been assigned to attend to the High Priest's ever need, so wouldn't he know if his slave was punished?

Seth's hand pulled away for a moment as if burned before forcing Katsuya onto his back and gripping his chin, blue eyes staring at the slave's mouth. Katsuya snarled, trying to turn away again, but Seth's other hand moved to pry his moth open, jerking back at what he saw, or rather at what he didn't see.

Seth pointed at the small slave that stood behind him. "Go to Priestess Isis and tell her I request her presence in the throne room." A hand moved to cover his mouth as he looked down at Katsuya, both angered and ill at what had happened. He grabbed the slave's arm and jerked him out of the bed. "Come. I will get to the bottom of this."

Katsuya followed begrudgingly, the pain in his mouth making him nauseous and dizzy. As they made their way to the throne room, the blond could almost feel the anger building in the priest.

* * *

Heba ran as fast as his legs would carry him to High Priestess Isis' room, nearly crashing into her as she met him in the hallway.

"I am needed in the throne room, correct?" she asked in a soft voice. Heba bowed to her and nodded. "Then we shall both go." She glided past Heba, the short slave following after her. The High Priestess paused only once to gain the attention of Mahado, the priest following as well. When they reached the throne room, Seth's voice was easily heard echoing against the stone walls.

"I demand to know who ordered this punishment on him!"

Pharaoh Atem looked up as the others entered the room, nodding to Isis.

The High Priestess nodded solemnly, moving to where Katsuya was standing silently behind Seth. She trailed a finger under his chin. "Let me see."

Katsuya hesitated before opening his mouth, wincing at the act. She closed her eyes and turned towards Atem. "It is not something my Ka spirit can mend. However, the Millennium Necklace has shown me who ordered this done." She looked up at Seth and then to the Pharaoh. "It was High Priest Akhenadin."

"What!?" Seth growled, looking around the room as if the aforementioned priest were lurking in the shadows.

"Heba," Atem spoke, fixing his gaze on the short slave. "Please tell High Priest Akhenadin to present himself before me."

"Yes my Pharaoh," Heba said with a deep bow before rushing off. He returned quickly, following after Akhenadin.

"You wished my presence, Pharaoh Atem?" the older priest asked, bowing respectfully. Seth gritted his teeth, waiting his turn to speak.

"It has come to my attention that a slave was punished last evening by your command. Is this true?" the Pharaoh asked.

"Yes, my Pharaoh. However, it was just punishment. I overheard this slave-" Akhenadin gestured in Katsuya's direction-" speaking ill of High Priest Seth. I thought it only right to make certain it was taught to be respectful."

"This slave is mine to mete out punishment on should he earn it," Seth said coldly, still facing the Pharaoh. "Any transgression, against myself or another, should have been brought to my attention first."

Katsuya peered over Seth's shoulder at the priest's face and catching a glimpse of anger he hadn't witnessed before. And he thought he had seen the High Priest's wrath in full in the time he had served him.

Atem sat back on his throne and nodded to Akhenadin. "High Priest Seth makes a valid point. Why was this matter not brought to him?"

"My Pharaoh," Akhenadin began, bowing slightly. "This slave has been temperamental and boarish since he was brought to the palace. Whatever punishments High Priest Seth has been using have not been effective in taming this slave's tongue."

"I happened to find Katsuya's tongue amusing," Seth said suddenly, folding his arms over his chest. "Aside from his sharp tongue, he did as he was told."

Akhenadin stared at Seth in shock. "You allowed his behavior because it amused you!?"

"Yes." Seth reached an arm back and pulled the blond to his side, glaring at Akhenadin. "And while I'm certain he will find new ways to amuse me, I cannot forgive this transgression."

"My Pharaoh, do you hear what High Priest is saying!?" Akhenadin shouted at the Atem. "Do you see what he is doing!?"

Atem merely smiled, crimson eyes falling on Heba for a second. The small slave immediately came to the Pharaoh's side. "I do not see anything wrong with what I am seeing and hearing from High Priest Seth. Infact, I dare say that I, from personal experience, would encourage him." The Pharaoh smiled, pulling Heba into his lap, the slave blushing brightly. "You, on the other hand, have fallen from my good graces. You will be stripped of your rank and you Millennium item and a suitable replacement will be found."

As the Pharaoh spoke, two guards materialized beside Akhenadin and grabbed his arms.

"M-my Pharaoh! You can't- Surely you-"

"I have spoken, Akhenadin." Atem nodded to the guards and then to Mahado and Isis. "Please reclaim the Millennium Eye and bring me candidates who may prove worthy of wielding it. Take High Priest Shada with you."

"Yes my Pharaoh," Isis and Mahado said in unison. Atem motioned for the guards to leave the throne room as well and looked at Seth.

"I am sorry for you and Katsuya," Atem said quietly. "I will personally see to it that he receives proper treatment and care until he is fully recovered." The Pharaoh smiled, petting Heba's hair as the small slave settled against him, still blushing.

"Thank you, my Pharaoh. I will, of course, keep him in my chambers until he is well again." Seth and Atem sharing a knowing smile and the Priest bowed, turning away and leading a flustered Katsuya away. Once they were in the privacy of Seth's personal chambers, the blond found himself pressed back against a wall and trapped in the priest's blue eyes.

"Katsuya...I am sorry." Seth gently kissed the slave's lips, Katsuya's eyes widening in shock. "Had I known..." he breathed, resting his forehead against the slave's and peering into his brown eyes. "Will you forgive me?"

Katsuya smirked slyly and he leaned forward to kiss the priest in return.

* * *

Seto scrowled at the alarm clock. Normally he would have reached over and hit the snooze button to shut it up, but his right arm was trapped in Jounouchi's grip and his left arm was pinned under his little brother.

"Mokuba, get up and go get ready for school."

Mokuba grumbled, only moving after Seto nudged him toward the edge of the bed. The younger Kaiba stumbled off in a zombie state and the alarm was finally silenced. The young CEO sat up, looking down at the sleeping Jounouchi for several minutes before working his arm free. He stroked the blond's cheek and leaned down, rousing him from sleep with a deep, intimate kiss before climbing out of bed himself.

"What was that for?" Jounouchi asked, yawning as he stretched his arms over his head.

"Just checking," Seto smiled.

* * *

AN: Tomorrow I will try to have the next part of "Like Pieces of a Puzzle 2" written and posted. Expect there to be something cute and fluffy posted in this thread though! Like....call-your-dentist-and-make-an-appointment-cause-you'll-have-cavities-from-reading-it cute. Maybe tendershipping. Any thoughts on this?

*ninja poof*


	9. Come What May

AN: Puzzleshipping. And I don't own "Come What May". It's a good song though. From Moulin Rouge!, a good movie. And hopefully by the end of the day I'll have a tendershipping story done cause I thought of it at work and if I don't write it, I'll cry.

Besides I didn't get a one shot up last night. I feel like I owe you people who read my stuff at least that. XD

And no, I still don't own Yugioh. And I don't own Moulin Rouge!. :3

Oh and this wasn't the cavity inducing story I was going to write, but some with a predisposition to get cavities easily may be affected. The management would like to apologize. They would like to, but they won't. Enjoy!

* * *

It was all over. Evil had been defeated, all the cards were played, all the tear-choked goodbyes and heartfelt good wishes spoken. There was only one thing like to do for the Pharaoh Atem: just walk into the light.

It wasn't a normal light that shone as the huge stone wall opened the path to the underworld. It was cold and empty, promising the dead a comfortable end. But if Atem was dead, why was his heart pounding in his ears? And why couldn't he move?

The latter question had an obvious answer. Atem didn't want to leave.

He didn't want to leave his friends. He didn't want to never played Duel Monsters against Kaiba again. He didn't want all he had experienced in his short time to fade like an old photograph in the memories of those he had grown close enough to that he considered them an extended family.

And, most of all, he didn't want to leave his aibou.

The Pharaoh didn't need to turn around to know that Yugi, for all his brave words, was crying. Crying because it was over. Crying because Yami...because Atem was leaving.

'Aibou...I love you...' But to say those words aloud would not be enough. There were no words to convey the love he and Yugi had. But he had to say something, didn't he? If he was going to leave, he had to somehow convey in words that he would love Yugi forever.

"Never knew I could feel like this...Like I've never seen the sky before..." Atem looked up at the ceiling and drew in a deep breath.

"Pharaoh?" Isis questioned.

"Want to vanish...inside your kiss...Every day I love you more and more..." Atem looked back at Yugi over his shoulder, violet eyes meeting shining amethyst. He covered his heart with his hand. "Listen to my heart, can you hear it sing? Telling me to give you everything." The Pharaoh half turned away from the light, ignoring the strange, shocked looks of those that had gathered to see him off. For him, there was only Yugi. His light was warmth and promised love and more peace than the light that called him to the underworld. Atem felt tears stinging his eyes, holding out a hand to Yugi. "Seasons may change, winter to spring...But I love you...until the end of time" Yugi drew in a breath as Atem closed his eyes, turning his head away slightly. "Come what may....Come what may, I will love you until my dying day."

The silence that followed seemed to stretch on for days when it was really only about eight second before Yugi stepped closer. "Suddenly the world seems such a perfect place...Suddenly it moves with such a perfect grace..."

Atem opened his eyes as he felt Yugi take his hands and stared deeply into those shining amethyst pools, wanting to drown in them. When Yugi opened his mouth to speak, Atem spoke as well, the words drawn from him. "Suddenly my life doesn't seem such a waste..."

Yugi smiled up at him, bringing his lips to Atem's and whispering "It all revolves around you."

The kiss was their first real kiss. It was soft and gentle and left all those who witnessed it breathless in shock. When they parted, they spoke in unison again, the words a promise to each other.

"And there's no mountain too high, No river too wide. Sing out this song and I'll be there by your side. Storm clouds may gather And stars may collide...," Atem placed a hand on Yugi's cheek, brushing away tears with his thumb and throwing off their synchronization for just a moment.

"But I love you-"

"I love you..." Yugi echoed, almost seeming to be in a trance.

"Until the end. Of. Time," Atem vowed.

"Until the end of time... " Yugi breathed, beginning to speak when the other had said the word "end".

They kissed again, Yugi clinging to Atem desperately.

Anzu felt tears in her eyes. At first she had felt jealous. After all, she had loved Atem for so long. But as she watched them, her bitter jealously melted leaving only acceptance. 'They deserve each other,' she thought, a sad smile on her lips. 'But he has to leave..'

A figure suddenly appeared in the light the glowed from the doorway to the underworld and cleared his throat. Startled, Yugi and Atem turned to face it.

"F-father..." Atem breathed, eyes widening.

"My son," the shade of his father said with a smile. "It would seem to the gods that you are not yet ready to move on." The ancient Pharaoh took a step back, the door slowly beginning to close. "When you are really ready, we will meet again. Oh, and Yugi,"

Yugi blinked at him, nervously hugging Atem's arm.

"Y-yes, Ph-pharaoh Aknamkemon?" he squeaked.

"I know I do not need to say it, but please be good to my son. I expect to see you both again one day," Aknamkemon chuckled as the doors closed. The chamber shook and started to fall apart and sent everyone running for the exit.

Once outside in the Egyptian heat, Atem and Yugi were surrounded by Jounouchi, Honda, and Anzu, the trio engulfing them in a group hug.

"I never saw that coming," Isis murmured.

Marik laughed, putting an arm over his sister's shoulders. "Even if you still had the Millennium Necklace I don't think you would have, sister. But it's ok. The Pharaoh and the Chosen One deserve a happy ending, don't they?"

Isis nodded with a smile. "Indeed they do."

-----------------------------------

AN: There! I've done the obligatory "Pharaoh Leaving Forever scene with a twist"! Now I am a true puzzleshipper! Mwahaha!


	10. Look at the stars 444SetoJou Lemon444

AN: Lemon warning (OMG my first Yu-Gi-Oh lemon and the first I've written in years :p). I tried to keep it as non-descriptive as possible, but it's still lemony-fresh enough for me to say "if you shouldn't be reading this type of stuff or you don't like the thought of two men having sex, please move on to the next story (which if I haven't posted by now, will be up soonish)"

Puppyshipping. Written while listening to "Yellow" by Coldplay. Maybe from now on I'll tell you what I'm listening to while I write some of this stuff. Music makes my muses dance and tell me what to write.

Enough rambling! Enjoy the show. (also they might be a tad OOC iono XD)

* * *

Being the CEO of the largest gaming company in the world wasn't easy. Long days, long nights, dealing with annoying marketers, shareholders, customers, and such.

But Seto endured it. The money he earned more than made up for it and would ensure a life of ease for his brother. Still, even a busy CEO needs some time to himself. And so every Wednesday night was his date night with Jounouchi.

Everyday off, rare as they were, belonged to the blond as well as every moment not devoted to work or Mokuba.

Seto looked at the small clock on his computer and stretched back in his seat, letting it recline as far as it would, his eyes slipping closed.

'Three more hours of work and then I'll head to the restaurant,' the brunette thought, stifling a yawn. He had been working late nights to deal with numerous programming errors with the latest set of Duel Disks that had recently shipped out and hadn't been sleeping well. Hardly anything new for the CEO of Kaiba Corp.

'I'll have some coffee sent up and just finish getting this cleared up and still have time,' he thought, imagining himself reaching over to press the intercom button. Imagining getting all his work done as his breathing became even and his arms slid to hang limply at his sides.

Seto awoke when he felt the chair tipping back into a sitting position and someone straddle his lap while strong arms hugged his shoulders. He raised his head in time to receive a warm kiss.

"You were late," Jounouchi breathed, lips still brushing against Seto's. "I told you you needed more sleep."

Seto smiled, bring his arms up to encircle the blond's waist and kissing him softly. "Sorry." The CEO noticed how dark his office had gotten.

Jounouchi shook his head, shivering a bit as he felt the brunette's hands sliding under his shirt. "Nah, it's alright. You got sleep that you needed. So-" Seto kissed him again and the rest of his words died in his throat.

Seto smiled, moving his hands to grab the blond's firm ass and stood up, setting Jounouchi on the edge of his desk and continuing the kiss, his hands working to undress his lover.

Jounouchi blushed, pushing Seto away a bit. "O-oi, don't you know there are windows right there? Someone could see..."

"Doubtful," Seto scoffed, discarding Jounouchi's shirt and running his hands over the blond's chest. "As high up as we are and as late as it is, it is highly unlikely. Now shut up, mutt."

The blond chuckled, deciding not to argue with Seto's logic and began disrobing the brunette. When there was nothing left between them, he expected that the desk would put through a rather rigorous stress test and started to lay back, still kissing the brunette. Usually their lovemaking was marked with a power struggle to see would be on top, but every once in a while one would willingly submit. And the blond didn't mind it this time.

Seto suddenly stepped back, pulling the teen to his feet and, all while kissing him, lured him to the large windows behind him, the blond, trying to pull away.

"W-wait a minute!" he tried to argue, finding himself pressed face first against the cool pane of glass, over looking the city. Seto pressed Jounouchi's palms against the glass, holding them firmly in place and nibbling at his shoulder. "Y-your crazy," Jounouchi said, blushing hotly as he realized that Seto held a small vial between two of his fingers.

"Shush, it's not like anyone will see," the brunette muttered, taking one hand away and opening the vial, somehow managing to empty the contents into one hand and rubbing slick fingers against Jounouchi's entrance. "Relax."

The blond tried to, but he shivered, looking out over the city, worried that someone would see what they were doing. He turned his gaze to the stars, almost drowned out by the bright city lights. He felt Seto take his hand and kiss the back of it before pressing it against the glass again. He let his head roll back against the brunette's shoulder, letting out a groan as he felt himself being entered.

Seto took his time taking the blond, wanting to draw out their time together, lips traveling over Jounouchi's exposed neck. He opened his eyes and looked out the window urging his lover to do the same. His hands eventually left Jounouchi's, one curling around his slim waist while the other grabbing his manhood and moving in time to their thrusts.

Seto smiled as his name was torn from Jounouchi's lips, filling the blond and nosing at his neck. "That wasn't so terrible now, was it?" he breathed hotly into the blond's ear, panting from the exercise.

Jounouchi shivered, resting his forehead against the window. "Not...entirely..." He smirked, looking up at the sky again. "But, what are you going to do about the mess?"

"Hmm, that's a good point," the brunette mumbled. "I'll have to do something about it before we leave." He nibbled the blond's ear before pulling away and going to retrieve his clothes. Jounouchi sighed, pushing himself away from the window. As he went to retrieve his own clothes, he casually smacked the brunette's still exposed behind and offered a sly smile as if to infer that there would be a round two later.

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AN: Well not that that story's out of my head, on to the next! ...Another puppyshipping...damn I'm addicted. Where can I go to sign up for puppyshippers anonymous?


	11. Won't say it

AN: Short, non-lemon story (to make up for the previous lemon XD). It's also puppyshipping.

Jounouchi refuses to admit that he is in love with Seto. And his friends try to coerce him to admit his feelings to them.

If you can't tell from reading it, it's based off a Disney song. I'll tell you what it is at the end. See if you can guess it before then!

* * *

Yugi and Jounouchi were talking before class one day, the blond's eyes continually moving to the door. The shorter teen smiled at his friend, noting they were alone in the class room.

"You still haven't told him, have you Jounouchi?" Yugi poked the blond, snapping him out of his vigil.

"What? Told who what?" the blond asked, a hint of nervousness in his voice.

"You're still in love with Seto, right?" Yugi asked quietly, noting the hint of pink in Jounouchi's cheeks. "You just need to talk to him more and-"

"Love? With that ass?" the blond scoffed. "Nah, that was just..."

"Just?" Yugi leaned closer, grinning brightly and amethyst eyes sparkling. Jounouchi sighed, covering his face with his hand. He let out a sigh.

"If there's a prize for rotten judgment, I guess I've already won that," the blond muttered, looking at Yugi. "No man is worth the aggravation. The crush thing is ancient history." He waved his hand dismissively. "Been there, done that."

"Who do you think you're kidding," Anzu said, startling the blond. "All you've been able to do for the past three months to stare at him with big puppy eyes- oops!" she covered her mouth, suppressing a giggle.

"Hell, even I can see it, Jounouchi," Honda said, putting an arm around his friend's shoulder and grinning at him. "You never did have much of a poker face. We can see it written all over your face. Just admit you're in love with the guy."

Jounouchi growled, pushing Honda away, and folding his arms over his chest, sulking like a child. "No chance, no way. I ain't sayin' it. I can't stand the guy. What makes you think I even like him?"

"Come on, Jounouchi," Ryou said quietly, resting a hand on the blond's shoulder. "You're all but swooning whenever he comes in the room. And I've heard you sigh at him before. You, my friend, are love sick."

"I'm not some cliché woman. I'm a M-A-N. And I'm not gonna say I'm in love with that egotistical, blue eyed, bastard."

Yugi's Millennium Puzzle glowed brightly and his features changed slightly. "Jounouchi, you have to stop denying who you are and how you are feeling."

"Et tu, Yami?" Jounouchi grumbled, putting his head on his desk and folding his arms over it to hide his face and try to block out his friends.

"Jounouchi, we've all seen how you are around him. We aren't buying this "I don't love him" act," Anzu said, putting a hand on his shoulder and wagging a finger at him admonishingly. "You have to face this like a grown up."

"Yeah, when are you gonna own up, Jounouchi?" Honda said, playfully slapping the blond's back.

"You're all wrong. So there's no chance in hell that I'll say it," Jounouchi insisted, keeping his head down and covered. The door to the class room opened and more students entered, including the brunette in question.

Ryou leaned over Jounouchi's head to whisper to the others. "Look at that grin, he's so in love."

"Would you guys just shut up," Jounouchi grumbled, his face burning red. "I'm not gonna say it."

"Come on man. Just read our lips," Honda whispered, grinning and trying to catch the blond's eye. "You. Are. In. Love."

"You're way off base, I won't say it." Jounouchi lifted his head, glaring at Yugi, who was back to being Yugi now, though he knew the Pharaoh was likely hovering near him. "Get off my case." He looked to Ryou and Anzu, growling a bit. "I. Won't. Say. It."

The teacher entered and his friends moved to their seats, Yugi leaning close to add one last bit of encouragement before taking his seat in front of Jounouchi. "Jou, you don't have to be so headstrong. It's ok to say you're in love."

Jounouchi grumbled, pulling out the book for their first class and catching a glimpse of Seto. 'At least at out,' he thought to himself, hiding his face in his book. 'I won't say I'm in love...'

* * *

AN: There; Something cute. And who knows, it might give me (or someone else) an idea.

It's already giving me an idea. Crap. *files away in the "I Have Too Many Ideas Already" folder*

And the song is from Disney's Hercules: "I Won't Say I'm In Love". And no, I don't own that. Silly people.


	12. Karaoke: Marik and Marik

AN: I don't own Livin' La Vida Loca. Or Ricky Martin for that matter.

Don't ask me why this happened. I really don't know. I was all happy with puzzle, tender, and puppyshipping. And then...and then Marik had to be all "But I don't want you to pair me up with Anzu! I'll cry!" and far be it from me to make such a cute hikari cry.

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"I'll go next!" Marik said, hurrying up to Anzu, who queued up the song and resumed fanning herself, catching a glimpse of Seto...smiling. Smiling at Jounouchi. They were being just too adorable.

'At least Marik's not singing with anyone,' she thought, turning to watch as the blond Egyptian took the microphone and swayed to the beat. 'Yes. Finally a guy that isn't going to break into a yaoi duet.' She smiled, admiring Marik's lithe form as he started to sing, still moving to the music.

_"She's into superstitions black cats and voodoo dolls.  
I feel a premonition that girl's gonna make me fall."_

Marik's eyes narrowed a bit and he grinned, making Yugi and Ryou melt against their yami's.

_"She's into new sensations new kicks-"_ he did a quick side kick _"- in the candle light.  
She's got a new addiction for every day and night._

_She'll make you take your clothes off and go dancing in the rain.  
She'll make you live her crazy life but she'll take away your pain"_

He formed his free hand to pantomime a gun and pointed it at his temple

_"Like a bullet to your brain!"_ He acted out pulling the trigger, tossing his head back. _"Come On!"_ Marik looked at his audience again, resuming his dancing around.

_"Upside, inside out she's livin' la vida loca  
She'll push and pull you down, livin' la vida loca  
Her lips are devil red and her skin's the color mocha  
She will wear you out livin' la vida loca Come On!  
Livin' la vida loca, Come on!  
She's livin' la vida loca."_

Just as the next verse was starting, the door to their room flew open, another blond Egyptian entering, hair standing up wildly and navy eyes flashing darkly. Both Yami and Bakura leapt to their feet, ready for a fight, but the new yami merely continued where Marik had left off.

_"Woke up in New York City in a funky cheap hotel-"_

Yami Marik bounded onto the stage, grabbing the stunned Marik by the wrist, taking the microphone from him while holding him on stage.

_"He took my heart and he took my money  
he must've slipped me a sleeping pill."_

The yami spun Marik around, dancing with him. Marik flailed and was trying to get free. Yami hesitated as to whether or not the blond needed saving while Bakura merely cackled and took his seat, watching with renewed interest.

_"He never drinks the water and makes you order French Champagne  
Once you've had a taste of him you'll never be the same"_

Yami Marik's lips hovered dangerously close to Marik's for a brief instant before the smaller blond was pushed away, his yami throwing his head back-

_"Yeah, he'll make you go insane!"_

_"Upside, inside out he's livin la vida loca"_

Marik found himself drawn against his yami, back against him for a brief moment and blushing as he felt a warm wetness on the shell of his ear before his was pushed away again, almost feeling like his arm would pop out of it's socket from the force.

_"He'll push and pull you down, livin la vida loca  
His lips are devil red and his skin's the color mocha"_

As Yami Marik kept singing, he danced with his hikari, intentionally getting him tangled in the microphone cord.

_"He will wear you out livin la vida loca Come On!  
Livin la vida loca, Come on!  
He's livin la vida loca. "_

Marik cried out as he stumbled and fell onto his butt, the microphone cord wrapped loosely around his legs and waist. Yami Marik smirked, kneeling down and looping the end of the cord around Marik's wrists.

"Wh-what are you doing!?" Marik yelped, trying to squirm away.

_"He'll make you take your clothes off and go dancing in the rain."_

Yami Marik moved his hands to the smaller blond's exposed midrift, ignoring his protests.

_"I'll make you live my crazy life  
but I'll take away your pain-"_

Yami Marik laughed, pantomiming a gun with one hand and pressing it to Marik's forehead and pretending to fire it.

_-Like a bullet to your brain. Come On!"_

As the last chorus played, Yami Marik flipped Marik onto his shoulder and headed for the door.

"N-no! Where are we going!? TASKETE!" he cried, looking to his friends.

"Hey now, no need for the theatrics. Let's go get reacquainted. I think the room next door is unoccupied," Yami Marik laughed.

"Oh my god HELP ME!"

The others stared, most wincing as the microphone cord snapped as it was pulled beyond it's breaking point, the speakers screeching for just a second.

"Sh...should we-" Ryou asked.

"He'll be fine," Bakura managed, his laughter near hysterical, feet kicking gleefully under the table.

Yami shivered and sat back down. "You know...I think he will be just fine," he muttered, not really wanting to deal with Yami Marik. They heard a door slam, cutting off Marik's cries for help.

Anzu laughed nervously, moving to close their door as well. "Um...so sound proof rooms, huh? Aren't they the best? Ha...ha..." She cleared her throat and looked around for a third microphone, seeing as they were down to one working one.

'What next? Are Honda and Otogi going to start making out?' Anzu glanced at the pair warily. 'Oh please...no no, they can't all be gay...'

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AN: There you go. My first try at bronzeshipping. Why? Because I heard Livin' La Vida Loca and ideas invaded my tendershipping thoughts, much to Bakura's disappointment.

I do have a tendershipping story that will be all epic and such. That will probably be written and posted in time for Ryou's birthday cause...I'm a fan girl and I can do that :D

Oh and "Taskete" is Japanese for "Help me" (I'm 99% sure on that. It's been years though. It might just mean help. Either way, I thought it sounded better for him to yell it in Japanese.).


	13. AMV Advertisement!

AN: Just a short OOC story about me and my muses to advertise my new music video (new...and first :p Hope it's good) I posted a link to it in my profile.

* * *

Ryou laid back on on the full size bed, arms behind his head and pouting up at the ceiling. Tozokuo Bakura leaned over, one brow raised.

"What's wrong, Ryou?"

The white haired teen sighed. "The author didn't write anything today."

"What? She had a whole day off from work and didn't write anything? What about White Raven? Didn't she say she was going to finish that?" The thief mad a face, folding his arms over his chest. "That lazy bi-"

"No no, she was busy today," Ryou interrupted.

"Who was busy today?" Yugi asked, coming into the room, Yami following behind him.

"Ms. Mysia was," Ryou replied, sitting up.

"But...she didn't write anything today, did she? I certainly wasn't informed," Yami blinked at the white haired teen and the bandit.

Ryou shook his head. "She didn't have time to write anything today. She was working on another project. She said it was top secret."

Yugi cringed. "Mysia doing something Top Secret? That doesn't sound good..." the short teen gasped, leaning in close. "You don't suppose she's looking into another pairing, do you?"

"She's already started looking into Marik and Malik stuff. What's it called again? Bronzeshipping?" Tozokuo asked, shrugging. "Wouldn't surprise me if she started after the really weird couples, like me and the Pharaoh or something."

Yami and the thief looked at each other for a moment before simultaneously sighing in relief.

"Well, we aren't feeling any strange attraction toward each other, so probably not," Yami lazily put an arm around Yugi.

"Well, we shouldn't worry about it. Ms. Mysia will tell us soon enough, I'm certain," Ryou smiled. Tozokuo sat behind the white haired teen and hugged him possessively.

"I would tell you now if you stopped talking like I wasn't in the room. Seriously, I'm what? five feet away?" Mysia grumbled, removing her glasses and cleaning them with the edge of her shirt.

"Well, you were being quiet over there and swearing about something," Tozokuo pointed out.

Yugi laughed, coming up being Mysia's chair and blinking at the screen in disbelief. "Is that...a music video?"

"Maybe."

"Is it any good?" the thief asked.

"I'm not going to dignify that with a response," Mysia replied simply. "I just posted it to youtube and it's...four in the morning now. I'm going to bed. Maybe I can get some writing done before work." She yawned and pushed away from the computer. "I'm going to brush my teeth. Tozokuo I swear if you and Ryou are still on my bed-"

"Fine fine. But I make no promised that Bakura won't show up and call dibs." The thief stood up, picking Ryou up as well.

"Not if he values his life. Now go to your respective beds or go watch TV. I'm going to sleep."

The four muses filed out of the room leaving Mysia to go to sleep.

* * *

AN: Yes. Yes this is lame. But I am tired and I did want to let you know about my first music video :x Especially cause it's Yu-Gi-Oh related, though not really any sort of shipping. Go check it out if you're interested! I really will try to get something posted tomorrow!


	14. Give A Little Whistle

AN: It's not White Raven, but at least it's tendershipping. I get to work early morning the next two days, but maybe I can get around to updating my other stories. XD

If you haven't seen it yet, I made a music video. The link is in my profile. It's my first one and I would like people to comment (you don't have to, but just throwing it out there. I won't mention it again, promise! :3)

_Italics_ are flashbacks.

I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh...yet. Maybe one day in the distant future. It's not likely, but hey. I also don't own Pinocchio. That would just be silly. I"m neither Walt Disney nor am I old enough.

* * *

Ryou sat alone in the sandbox, quietly playing by himself while other children watched him from afar. The young boy knew they were talking about him: the strange new kid with white hair. There was nothing he could do about it. He didn't have the confidence to tell them to stop or to try and make friends. As he continued to play, he felt a sudden weight hanging around his neck. Sitting back, his small hands fastened themselves to the edge of a gold ring, five prongs chiming softly as Ryou brought the item up to inspect it, brown eyes innocently blinking at the eye in the center of the triangle in the middle of the ring.

There was a bright flash and he found himself in a dark place, a thick mist swirling about lazily on the ground in darker shades of gray. The small boy looked up to see he was not alone. The person before him looked to be a teenager, his hair similar to Ryou's but longer with parts of his bangs standing up a bit. The teen's eyes were a dark crimson and studied Ryou with interest.

Ryou blinked curiously up at him, standing up meeting his gaze. "Hi. My name's Ryou Bakura..." Ryou smiled, holding a hand up to the other. "What's your name?"

The teen seemed to hesitate for a moment before taking Ryou's hand. "I don't really remember."

"You don't know your own name?" Ryou asked curiously. He smiled even more brightly. "That's alright. What do you want to be called?"

Again the teen paused thoughtfully. "Somehow, I like the name Bakura. It sounds familiar."

Ryou laughed softly. "Bakura, then. That's fine! Do you want to be friends?"

Bakura tilted his head slightly to one side and then nodded. "Alright, Ryou."

The small boy laughed again, latching onto Bakura's waist. He spoke again, but his voice was drowned out by a loud, incessant beeping.

* * *

Ryou opened his eyes slowly, looking to the source of the noise. With a soft sigh, he sat up, nimble fingers reaching out to turn off the alarm.

"Six A.M...." the teen sighed, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and looking around, a hand unconsciously going to his chest and finding nothing there. Lazily he got out of bed and straightened the sheets, tucking them into place and smoothing them out. Satisfied, he went to take a shower, resting his forehead against the wall while water ran through his hair.

'Bakura's gone,' he reminded himself. 'It's been three months. I have my life back...' he closed his eyes, turning his head to let the water run over his face. He hands against went to his chest and he frowned.

'These dreams...did they really happen? Are they memories that Bakura somehow suppressed? Or are they dreams of what I wish we had been?' The thought of Bakura being his friend was almost laughable.

Almost.

Ryou finished his shower, dried, dressed, and went downstairs to make breakfast.

'He's gone. He's really gone. No more danger. No more hurting people. No more batsu...'

His hand stilled as he lifted an egg, remembering the thief's batsu (penalty) games and how he had, when Ryou had been young, trapped many souls into game pieces. Souls of people who were cruel or bullied Ryou.

_Bakura looked away from Ryou, arms folded over his chest. "They were unkind to you so I made them disappear."_

Ryou looked up at the ceiling, turning the egg over in his hand thoughtfully before striking it on the counter. 'If that was true, then he wouldn't have...' he stopped that thought, opening the egg over a bowl and reaching for another.

_"I have been alone for over three thousand years."_

Ryou frowned, cracking a third and then a fourth egg before grabbing a whisk and mixing the contents of the bowl. 'Stop thinking about him, Ryou. He's gone now. He just made your life a living hell from the moment you-' his eyes widened.

_"What is this?" Bakura frowned, hanging over the back of the couch. Ryou, age twelve, smiled at the spirit, gesturing to the TV screen._

_"It's an American movie that was dubbed into Japanese. It's called Pinocchio."_

_"That's a stupid name."_

_"It's the name of the main character." Ryou pointed to the screen as the good fairy was appearing to bring the puppet to life. Bakura watched silently for a moment._

_"Talking crickets, living puppets. This is stupid."_

_"Well, I want to watch it," Ryou pouted._

_"Anytime you need me, you know, just whistle. Like this!" Jiminy Cricket was saying, demonstrating for Pinocchio._

_Ryou drew his knees up to his chest as the cricket began his song and dance. He heard a whistle beside him in tune to the song and looked over at Bakura, who, despite his complaints, was still watching the movie._

_Ryou smiled. "Hey, Bakura." The spirit eyed his host. "Would you come help me if I whistled?"_

_"Che. Why would you need to whistle? You don't even need to ask aloud for help." Bakura tapped the side of his head and then pressed the same finger to Ryou's forehead. "We're linked, remember?"_

_Ryou laughed. "I know. I was just thinking about the song."_

_Bakura shrugged. "If you need me, just tell me. If whistling makes you happy, then whatever."_

Ryou leaned on the counter, blinking as he realized he'd started crying. "Idiot..." he mumbled, rubbing his eyes. 'Even if we had some good times, I wouldn't want him back. I'm better now that he's gone.'

Even as he thought that, he knew it wasn't true. He was lonely. His father was rarely home. His friends were always busy with something that never seemed to include him (though he supposed he couldn't' blame them after the Bakura incident). His shoulders shook from a mixture of wanting to laugh and wanting to cry and he got a glass of water to try and swallow all of those feelings.

'I think I figured it out...' he thought to himself, turning on the stove and setting a pan on the burner to heat. 'We must have been friends at first. And then when we got near the Millennium Puzzle...that's when everything started to go down hill. Yes...Yes I think that is what happened. And it's not really anyone's fault, is it? It's just what happened.' He poured his eggs into the pan, going to the refrigerator to get some cheese and ham. 'I wonder if we could go back to being just friends now that the Millennium Items are sealed forever. But then...he's really gone isn't he?'

Ryou found himself whistling as he added the ingredients to his omelet and flipped it. As he dumped the finished product onto a plate, he stopped whistling for just a moment, focusing on not letting the fluffy omelet break. He froze, eye wide as he realized that someone was whistling behind him. Slowly he turned around, brown eyes blinking in disbelief.

"You called?" the familiar figure asked, leaning against the wall, crimson eyes glinting.

* * *

AN: I thought it was cute anyway. :p hope you liked it! Also, I don't' know how to make an omelet. Do not use this story as an example of omelet making. Cause it's probably wrong.


	15. A Little After The Dream

AN: I'm doing a lot of song-related one shots aren't I? And not enough chapters? Well, I work early again tomorrow and then have a day off. Let's see if I can change the latter.

How are we liking the song-related fics though? Any thoughts? Should I stop?

This one's Puzzleshipping. Stuff in **Bold** is the translated line, stuff in _**Bold Italics**_ is the original song (it was side by side, but FFN killed that). Translation then original verse.

The translation for the song I found on a site called Dragon-Tear (dot) net. The song is from Breath of Fire IV and is called Yume no Sukoshi Ato ("A Little After the Dream") by Yoshino Aoki. I don't own anything I just said. Hope you like it!

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Yugi awoke slowly, unconsciously reaching a hand out, hand touching only cool sheets. He opened his eyes and sat up, looking around his room for a moment before he simply shakes his head, a small smile on this lips and he slips out of the bed, flexing his fingers a bit as he wanders the room almost in a daze, getting himself ready for school.

**I dream and I wake up and you aren't here  
And I begin to look for you and I realize and I smile just a little  
And my fingertips remember the warmth that's vanished away  
And I want to hear your voice and I want to touch you but I can't**

_**Yume o mite me ga samete kimi ga inakute  
Sagashikakete ki ga tsuite sukoshi dake waratte  
Kiete itta nukumori o yubisaki ga omoidashite  
Koe ga kikitakute furetakute demo dekinakute**_

Once more, amethyst eyes scan the room, feeling that he's forgetting something. Realization dawns on him and the teen shakes his head again, a hand moving to his chest where the Millennium Puzzle hung for so long.

"I have to get used to this, right mou hitori no boku?" he laughed softly, sadness glinting in his eyes as he turns to leave, grabbing his back pack and taking his time on the stairs, his mind thousands of miles and thousands of years away.

The fresh, morning air of Domino City greets him when only yesterday he was in the arid dry heat of Egypt. Yugi raises an arm, shielding his eyes from the bright sun shine, belatedly calling back over his shoulder that he was going to school. He smiled as he walked, eyes straying to the blue sky, a few clouds lazily drifting around.

"I guess...the adventure and drama is over now, mou hitori no boku," Yugi whispered, wondering if his words would someone reach the Pharaoh where ever he was now. "But..."

**Yes, but the world  
Is always so beautiful  
It seems so strange that you alone aren't here**

**Because the time we were together  
Was real  
This world the two of us lived in  
Is beautiful**

_**Sou ne dakedo sekai wa zutto  
Kirei na mama da ne  
Kimi hitori inai nante fushigi da ne**_

_**Issho datta ano toki ga  
Hontou no koto dakara  
Futari ikiteta kono sekai ga  
Kirei nanda ne**_

"Yugi!"

Yugi blinked, looking ahead of him to see his friends waiting for him. Smiling, the teen quickly closed the distance between them. They exchanged greetings and continued on to school.

"After all we've been through, school seems almost pointless, huh Yugi?" Jounouchi said with a grin, honey brown eyes flashing.

"You're only saying that because you'll be lucky if you graduate," Honda teases, elbowing the blond in the ribs playfully. Anzu and Yugi laughed and the shorter teen let his eyes stray to the sky again.

"Yugi? Are you ok?" Anzu asked. Yugi nodded softly.

"I will be," he reassured her quietly. "I promised I would be. Beside," he smiled up at her, "One day, we might meet again. I want to have a lot of good stories to tell him."

Anzu nodded, eyes shimmering for a moment before looking forward again. Yugi knew that, like himself, Anzu was missing the Pharaoh too. That Jounouchi and Honda were as well, in their own way.

Yugi gripped the straps of his back pack and continued on quietly.

* * *

Atem sighed softly, laying back against plush grass, eyes gazing up through the branches of the fruit-ladened trees above him. He heard the movement and soft voices of others that had been a part of his court and a part of his ancient life.

The after life was proving to be very nice. Green fields, abundant streams and rivers, mind boggling varieties of fruits, flowers. It was a true paradise that seemed to stretch into infinity and would take ones entire afterlife to explore.

The wind blew a gentle breeze across Atem's face, pulling at his hair playfully as violet eyes closed against the bright sun as the tree's branches shifted, allowing it passage to the Pharaoh's face. When he opened his eyes again, he felt a slight moisture in the corners of his eyes and tried to blink it away.

**The green of the trees stretched into the skies and carried the song of the wind  
And it was so warm and overflowing with light I began to cry**

_**Kigi no ao sora ni nobite kaze no uta hakonde  
Hikari afurete atatakakute namida koboreta**_

He senses two people approaching and looks toward them, a smile gracing his features as Mahado and Mana come to sit with him, the former dressed as the Dark Magician. Mana smiled, tapping Atem's forehead, bare of crown, and laughs.

"We were looking everywhere for you, Prince!" she laughed.

"Mana," Mahado smiled, patting his apprentice on the head. "He is no longer a prince, you recall."

"Sorry," Mana laughed, rubbing the back of her head and sticking out her tongue.

"I am sorry," Atem smiled, sitting up and facing his childhood friends. "Why were you looking for me?"

Mahado cleared his throat, catching Mana's gaze out of the corner of his eye before looking to Atem again. "It has come to the attention of those closest to your highness that he is unhappy," the mage said formally.

"In other words, you aren't happy, Prince. What troubles you?" Mana asked, hands on her knees and leaning forward anxiously.

Atem sighed, looking up at the sky again, missing the admonishing look Mahado threw to Mana. Violet eyes close and the young Pharaoh recalls his more recent time on earth. The completion of the puzzle. Learning to work with Yugi so they could overcome anything that stood to threaten them or their friends. The duels, the drama, the love...

Before Atem can speak, Mana hugs his arm. "You told us about your new friends. The ones you made in that Jap-pan place. Are you missing them?"

The Pharaoh smiles sadly. "I do. Though, once my memories had returned, I missed you as well as Mahado and Seth..." Atem sighed, resting a hand on Mana's arm.

"Then...why did you come here?" Mana asked innocently.

"Why...?" Atem blinked curiously at her.

Mahado rested a hand on Mana's head. "I believe Mana wishes to know why you came to the afterlife if you truly weren't ready. I believe it is because you were not given an option?"

"I was unaware I had options," Atem sighed. "I was told that, once I recovered my memory and finished my battle with Zorc that I would move on. It seemed my only option would have been to share Yugi's body for the rest of his natural life and then...I don't know."

Mana gasped, staring into Atem's eyes. "The way you said that name...did you like that Yu-gi person?" The Pharaoh, caught of guard, blushed suddenly and the apprentice pointed triumphantly.

"Mana, mind yourself," Mahado pouted.

"But how were those your only options? There has to be another option! Let's go find you one!" she cheers, standing and dragging Atem with her. "Come on! Hurry hurry!"

**Yes, but the world  
Is always so beautiful  
It seems so strange that you alone aren't here**

**_Sou ne dakedo sekai wa zutto  
Kirei na mama da ne  
Kimi hitori inai nante fushigi da ne_**

Yugi walked home with his friends. Several months had passed and snow drifted lazily from the sky.

"I hope this keeps up," Jounouchi said, smiling and holding out a hand to catch snow flakes. "Man, a snow day would be awesome."

"You know they'll make us make it up in the Spring," Anzu said, smiling.

"Yeah...But it'd still be nice," the blond pouted.

"I agree," Honda said thoughtfully. "But I'm not going to plan on it."

"Well yeah," Jounouchi grumbled. "My luck, I wouldn't do my homework and it's be ninety degrees tomorrow."

"Yeah right," Honda laughed. "Hey, why don't we go by Burger World and work on our homework?"

"I'm there everyday day anyway," Anzu sighed. "But sure. I'll treat even."

"If you don't mind, I think I'm just going to head home," Yugi said suddenly, his friends blinking at him. "I just want to be alone for a bit."

They agree to it and Yugi starts on his way back to the game shop, deciding to take a walk through the park. He stopped at a small bridge, brushing the snow off the rail and leaning forward to take in the scenery. He closes his eyes, humming to himself, gently singing into the wind.

**I dream and I wake up and you aren't here, but  
The world the two of us lived in  
Shines so brightly**

"**_Yume o mite me ga samete_**...**_kimi wa inai keredo_**...  
**_Futari ikietea sekai ni_**...."

Yugi opened his eyes, a sad smile on his lips. He heard footsteps as someone walked behind him, but paid it no mind.

"Ka-"

"_**Kagayakiafureru**_," another voice finished for him, Yugi's voice catching in his throat as strong arms encircled his waist, tears clouding the shorter teen's vision.

* * *

* * *


	16. I Miss You

AN: A strange perspective perhaps. I'm tempted to tell you what the shipping is now, but that would spoil the surprise!

The deck mentioned is one my roommate recently bought for me (he had the urge to play again). Obviously I call it Duel Monsters, but it's Yu-Gi-Oh. It really is a nice deck (in my opinion). I mixed in a few of my old cards (which gave me an advantage to my roommate's machine structure deck (whatever it's called)). The card mentioned was one of them, but while shuffling my deck I was thinking of this couple and the top card I drew was the one mentioned. And this idea happened.

So I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh the anime or the card game. I just have a deck :3

* * *

Duel Monsters.

How long had it been since he had played? Since he had thrown his cards off the blimp and vowed never to play again?

Sitting back in his computer chair, he turned the small blue box over in his hands, studying the picture of the structure deck's most powerful creature that adorned the front of the box: Ocean Dragon Lord - Neo-Daedalus. Trailing fingers over the image, he read the words printed at along the bottom quarter of the box.

"Duel Monsters Trading Card Game. Structure Deck: Fury From The Deep. Experienced." His lips quirked into an awkward smile as if they had little practice in forming one. "Ah, I wonder if I count as an 'experienced' player? Why did I end up with a water-themed deck? They know it's not my thing..." Tucking fingers into the small gap on the top of the box, he tried to lift the flap and was met with resistance. "Eh? Oh, right. They seal these things..."

After a moment of unsuccessfully trying to peel of the seals, he opened a drawer on the computer desk in front of him and produced a pocket knife, carefully slitting the thick plastic stickers and finally pulling out the deck.

Forty cards, all water type creatures and cards to support them. While it had been well over a year, he still knew powerful cards when he saw them.

"This is actually a decent deck," he muttered to himself as he flipped through the cards. "I suppose I could work with this until I can get more cards from Yugi." He stopped, seeing a familiar card and feeling his heart clench. "Why is this here..."

Respectfully, he set the rest of the deck aside, holding the card before his face and inspecting it. "Why are you here. To torment me further?" He frowned, leaning back in his chair. "I never did get to apologize to you. Then again, I didn't realize how important you were until..."

Closing his eyes, he twirled the card between his fingers. "It should have been me, you know. But you just...you had to get in the way, didn't you. It was in your nature, despite our relationship." Tears threatened to form in his eyes and he blinked a few times. "You should have just let me be sent to the shadows. You know I would have found my way back...sooner of later anyway."

Rising from his seat, he strolled to the window, card still held between his fingers, and looked out into the twilight.

"Are you even still out there somewhere? I searched for you. Searched until I was pulled back and told that it was futile. I spent months trying to move on. I still haven't...I guess you can see that though," he said, looking down at the card. "They made me promise I wouldn't go back into the shadows. I think that shook me almost as losing you. That they cared."

Resting his forehead against the glass, he closed his eyes. "You probably don't want to hear about what I've been doing since then. It really hasn't been much. The hardest thing I had to do was talk to your father about what had happened. I'm surprised he didn't kill me on the spot. I think he's sort of adopted me in your place. I suppose it's for the best. You were the only family he had left and I really would have had no where to go. He still rarely comes home, but we get along alright when he does."

He sighed, his breath clouding the window for a moment. "Things were pretty quiet until last week. Someone else is trying to get the Millennium Items. Maybe it's because I stopped, I don't know. But they need me. They actually came to me and asked me for my help." Pulling away from the window, he went back to the computer chair, offering the card in his hand a small, sad smile. "I told them I would. They have been...nice to me. Despite our strained past and all the fighting, they've adopted me too it seems. I think even you would be shocked at who I've become since you were taken away." Sitting down, he took a key out of his pocket and unlocked the large, bottom drawer of the deck, pulling it open..

"One might think I've gone soft, but at a time like this I can't be." Reaching his hand in, he lifted a large item wrapped in several layers of black felt. He set the card down face up on the desk and he unwrapped it, taking the leather cord and pulling it over his head, letting the familiar weight pull at his neck and settle against his chest. Leaning back in the chair, he lifted the card again and studied it.

"This was your favorite card. It was the card you said represented you." He set the card on his chest, closing his eyes. "Change of Heart. Heh...if you only knew. I miss you Ryou."

"I missed you to, Bakura."

Bakura jerked in surprise, the chair toppling back. Blinking, he stared at the spirit, now standing over him, in shock.

"I got lost," the spirit admitted softly. "I had given up. But I heard your voice suddenly..." Tears shone in his eyes as he crouched beside the still startled Bakura, transparent fingers resting on the back of the card that was now resting on the yami's chest. "And I followed it home..."

"Ryou..."

* * *

AN: There. Once again, a happy ending. Should I have left off there? Should I do a squeal? What do you think? It was a bit short. :p

I might do Ryou's PoV next. We'll see :3


	17. Love Can Be Blind

AN: Puppyshipping! Combining two songs! The first: Like We Never Loved At All by Faith Hill. The second is Who Knew by Pink. Hope you like it!

And if you haven't read them yet, I wrote a story (lamely) titled What if Ryou's mother had the Ring? (no pairing) and posted the first chapter of another story titled Hikari no Yami no Game. You should check them out! (hint hint)

Or not. It's not like I'll hunt you down or something. That's Bakura's job. :3

* * *

It was a cool, autumn night in Domino City. The moon was full and things were starting to quiet down beneath the blanket of stars, barely visible in the bright depths of the city.

Seto was bowing once more respectfully to the business men he had just finished dining with, Mokuba following suit. It was a customary courtesy among Japanese business men. After all, Seto Kaiba, the CEO of Kaiba Corp bowed to no one.

As the Kaiba brothers headed for their awaiting limo, a familiar set of voices reached the brunette, who raised piercing blue eyes to the source.

Yugi, Jounouchi, Honda, and Anzu -the Yugi-tachi as they were oft referred- were walking toward him along with Mai, laughing and joking. Jounouchi gave Honda a friendly if hard punch in the arm, setting off a mock argument about something. For a brief second, the blond's eyes met the CEOs but he turned his attention back to Mai, the woman putting an arm over his shoulder and telling him something with a bright smile.

Seto felt as if he had been stabbed through the heart, but looked away from the group and climbed into his limo after Mokuba. He ignored Yugi's overly-friendly greeting and watching the group again through tinted windows until the vehicle had carried him away from the sight. Not before he saw Mai and Jounouchi sharing a kiss however.

'Katsuya...'

_You never looked so good  
as you did last night,  
underneath the city lights,  
there walking with your friend,  
laughing at the moon.  
I swear you looked right through me.  
But I'm still living with your goodbye,  
and you're just going on with your life._

* * *

Jounouchi closed his eyes as Mai kissed him, trying to enjoy the act. Mai was beautiful after all. He shouldn't be a problem to just embrace the well-endowed Duel Monsters playing goddess after all. He was a young man, not too bad looking, a renown Duel Monsters champion...It was a good thing to have someone like Seto at his side...

Mai. Someone like _**Mai**_ at his side.

Not Seto. Not the cold hearted Duelist/CEO with his blue eyes, brown hair, god like-

'No. Bad Katsuya. We have Mai now. We don't need that rich, stuck up asshole anymore,' he told himself. 'It's his fault we broke up. Not like he gives a shit anyway...I hate him...'

"Jounouchi?" Yugi's voice brought him back to reality.

"You alright hun?" Mai asked, taking him hand.

"Yeah I'm fine," the blond lied, following his friends. Well, more allowing Mai to lead him. He couldn't think after seeing Seto again for the first time in three weeks.

'He almost looked sorry...Damn it Katsuya, no he didn't. Stop trying to read something that isn't there...'

But try as he might, Jounouchi's mind kept wandering through the past year, recalling his relationship with the CEO from start to finish. He took every ounce of will he had to fight off tears, squeezing Mai's hand tightly.

_You took my hand  
You showed me how  
You promised me you'd be around  
Uh huh  
That's right  
I took your words  
And I believed  
In everything  
You said to me  
Yeah huh  
That's right_

* * *

It takes a big man to admit when he's wrong. Wasn't that how the saying goes? Seto couldn't be bothered to remember. He was tired and seeing Jounouchi again with Mai all over him had left him feeling hollow and cold.

Mokuba looked up worriedly at his brother, concern darkening his gray eyes a shade. "Seto, are you alright?"

The brunette merely nodded, eyes gazing at his reflection in the dark window beside him. 'Just like that, huh Katsuya? Not even a month and you're already just...'

"Big brother?"

The brunette blinked, looking at Mokuba. "Hm?" 'I wasn't talking aloud was I?' he wondered vaguely at the strange look his younger brother was giving him. He flinched slightly when Mokuba reached up ato brush a stray tear from him cheek.

"If you miss him that much, why don't you just apologize to him? Tell him you're sorry and to come back home." The ebony haired teen pouted a bit. "I miss having him around too you know."

Seto shook his head, annoyed that he hadn't realized a tear had escaped. "I don't miss him," he lied, fooling no one. "Besides, even if I did, it's not that simple."

"But why not, Seto?"

The brunette looked back at his reflection, trying to make out the scenery beyond it. "Because it's over, Mokuba. Just leave it alone."

_How can you just walk on by  
without one tear in your eye?  
Don't you have the slightest feelings left for me?  
Maybe that's just your way  
of dealing with the pain,  
forgetting everything  
between our rise and fall  
like we never loved at all._

* * *

The group stopped at an ice cream parlor near Yugi's place, sitting around a large table and laughing while enjoying their treats. Mai and Anzu were discussing beauty tips, leaving Jounouchi lost to his own thoughts.

Yugi moved closer to his friend, blinking up at him worriedly. "Jounouchi-"

"I'm fine," the blond replied automatically, trying to end the conversation before it began. Yugi persisted however and Jounouchi sighed, shoulders slumping.

"We'll be right back, guys!" Yugi said, grabbing his friend by the wrist and dragging him outside. "Have you even tried talking to him?" At Jounouchi's silence, the shorter teen tightened his grip on his friend's wrist. "Jounouchi, if you aren't over him, why are you with Mai? You're not being fair to yourself or to Seto or Mai by avoiding- Ah!" Yugi's back suddenly met the wall of the store, amethyst eyes widening.

"I know! Shut up!" Jounouchi growled, glaring at his friend for a moment before his anger dissipated. With a heavy sigh, he let Yugi go and moved beside him, sitting with his back to the wall. "Whatever it was Seto an' I had is over, Yugi. Best thing to do is just move on and forget about it."

Yugi sighed, sitting beside Jounouchi and looking up at the moon. "It's not really over though," he breathed. "You still love him, right?"

"He pretty much said he never wanted to see me again," the blond muttered.

"But is that what he said?"

"..."

_If someone said three years from now  
You'd be long gone  
I'd stand up and punch them up  
Cause they're all wrong  
I know better  
Cause you said forever  
And ever  
Who knew_

* * *

Seto entered his bedroom and closed the door behind him, actually going so far as to lock it. He had barely made it two steps when he heard the knob rattle followed by pounding.

"Seto, please talk to me!"

"Mokuba, there's nothing to talk about. Please...I had a long day I just need to get some sleep." The brunette ignored his brother's protests and flopped onto the bed, staring at the ceiling. He couldn't get the image of Jounouchi and Mai out of his head. Couldn't forget how happy the blond seemed with his friends.

The CEO rolled onto his side and closed his eyes. He couldn't recall laughing in the past three weeks. He hadn't smiled since the day before the stupid fight that had run off the only person he had ever loved (Mokuba excluded). He opened the locket he always wore and looked at the picture within. He had changed the picture of Mokuba out for one of Mokuba and Jounouchi, the older teen hugging the younger around the shoulders with one arm. They were both smiling and happy.

Seto wanted that life back. But he had screwed that up.

"Baka..."

_You, I hear you're doing fine.  
Seems like you're doing well  
as far as I can tell.  
Time is leaving us behind,  
(time – leaving us behind)  
another week has passed  
and still I haven't laughed yet.  
So tell me, what your secret is  
(I wanna know, I wanna know, I wanna know)  
to letting go, letting go like you did,  
like you did._

* * *

Jounouchi had left without saying goodbye to the others. He barely said so to Yugi when he had started walking home.

"Yugi's right. It's not right for me to be with Mai when I'm not over him..." he muttered to himself. "Maybe I should talk to him. What do I say though?" He growled, running his fingers through his hair. "Why is this stuff so hard? I'd rather be dueling Crazy-Marik that dealing with this shit. Maybe I should just lock myself in my room and never come back out."

A strong, cool wind blew past him, making him shiver and he shoved his hands into his jacket pockets. He felt something against his right hand and drew it out, pausing beneath a street lamp and holding out a silver house key attached to a metal key chain made to look like a Red-Eyes Black Dragon.

"That's right...that's why I haven't worn this jacket in a while..." he rubbed the dragon with his thumb, looking at the key, which had a Blue Eyes White Dragon engraved on it. He blinked his eyes rapidly, gritting his teeth.

_Remember when we were such fools  
And so convinced and just too cool  
Oh no  
No no  
I wish I could touch you again  
I wish I could still call you friend  
I'd give anything_

* * *

Seto lifted his head, startled by a forceful knock on his bedroom door, taking a moment to realize he had fallen asleep, still fully dressed and clutching his locket. Blue eyes fell on the door as he heard the incessant pounding again and he scrowled, crawling out of bed and shuffling to the door, throwing it open.

His eyes widened slightly as he found himself face to face with Jounouchi, both staring mutely at the other.

The blond was the first to break eye contact, finding sudden interest in the door frame. "Hi."

Seto's eyes fixed themselves on Jounouchi's shoulder. "Jounouchi."

More silence filled the space between them. Finally Jounouchi dug into his jacket pocket and pulled out his key, holding it out to Seto. "I...forgot...to give this back..." he muttered.

The brunette blinked at the object, feeling his heart breaking a little more. "Ah. Right..." He reached out a hand as if to take it, but changed his mind at the last moment, instead taking Jounouchi's hand and closing it over the key. "It's yours. Keep it. Throw it away. Whatever."

"Hmn...sure..."

More silence, neither seeming to know what to do. Frustrated, Mokuba rushed at Jounouchi, plowing into him from behind and sending him crashing into Seto, the brunette barely managing to keep them all from tumbling to the floor.

"Just stop it! God, you're both acting like children!" Mokuba shouted at them, getting to his feet. "It's so obvious that you don't hate each other! That you both want things to be the way they were! What the f*** is the problem!" Before either could react, the raven haired teen ran off, the door to his room slamming seconds later.

Jounouchi, face still awkwardly pressed against Seto's chest, blinked several times before looking up at the CEO, amber eyes questioning. The brunette looked back down at him as though seeing him for the first time. He lifted the blond and set him back his feet, still holding him close and seeming almost confused, a wide array of emotions playing in his blue eyes.

_Did you forget the magic?_

Jounouchi swallow hard, his mouth feeling dry and his throat tight. He drew in a breath, eyes wandering from Seto's. "Seto...about...That was...."

_Did you forget the passion?_

"It was my fault," Seto said, caressing Jounouchi's cheek warmly, urging the blond to meet his gaze again. "I....I'm....sorry," he managed with a heavy sigh.

_Oh, and did you ever miss me,_

"Please come home, Katsuya."

Jounouchi stiffened a bit in shock, but nodded his head. Seto smiled, his hand sliding to the back of the blond's neck and pulling him closer.

_and long to kiss me?_

Jounouchi's arms found themselves wrapping around Seto's chest, hugging him tightly as they kissed. Seto took a set back, the blond following him, kicking the door closed behind them.

* * *

AN: And then some citrus happened! Use your imagination!

There. Got a one shot out before I had to go to work at least. And I still have 30 minutes left to get ready!

...stupid 5am shifts.

Tonight I intend on having a chapter of something done. Maybe tomorrow early early again (it's 4am EST right now *cries*


	18. I had to

AN: A little one shot dedicated to 4Kids being stupid.

Well, really it's just based around Yami's PoV of the last half of episode 51 (based on the subbed version of Yu-Gi-Oh). Some of the lines are tweaked a little because the subbed version I found wasn't very accurate and it ends with a bit of puzzleshipping. *cheers* I think it kind of wanders off into fluffy-town somewhere near the end. I started to get sleepy...

Still don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. Thanks for asking though!

* * *

"I...I did it.."

Yami slowly opened his eyes, looking around his soul room. "What...happened...AH! Yugi!" He sat up quickly, recalling what had happened.

Bandit Keith had tricked Yugi and stolen the Millennium Puzzle in order to challenge him to a duel. Yami had sensed someone was controlling Keith and had remained in the puzzle during the duel, out of sight and watching to make sure Yugi was safe. Something had happened and the American had begun struggling with whoever was controlling him.

Then he had rushed to the puzzle and, before either Yugi or Yami could react-

Yami appeared outside of the puzzle, violet eyes wide as he saw the hungry flames devouring the abandoned factory.

"Hang on! Yugi, are you ok!?" Honda was shouting. Yami stared in shock at Jounouchi and Honda as the pair came to his aibou's side, trying to drag the shorter teen away. Yugi's hands were tightly fastened to the Millennium Puzzle, still hooked to the ring protruding from Yugi's podium.

"I...I can't leave...without the puzzle..."

Yami's heart clenched and he felt like he couldn't breathe (not that he needed to in spirit form). "Yugi!" He balled his hands into fists and shouted at his hikari through their mind link. "Let go Yugi! You have to leave now or..." he trailed off, realizing that he could neither finish that sentence nor could Yugi hear him.

"The puzzle?" Honda looked up at the chain. Jounouchi grabbed it and pulled as hard as he could.

"I can't pull it out!"

The brunette looked past the chain and suddenly climbed up to the podium.

'Why did I tell him to put the puzzle on that chain...' Yami berated himself, feeling helpless.

Honda leapt back down, Yugi's deck in hand. "Let's go! Hurry!"

"It's no good, I can't get it loose," Jounouchi growled. Honda pocketed the cards and both teens struggled with the chain, trying to unfasten it.

'Come on guys...If you can just get the puzzle down, I can take over...'

Part of the roof started to cave in and Jounouchi looked up. "We're running out of time!"

"In that case," Honda grabbed Yugi around the waist and tried to pull him away, but the shorter teen had a death grip on the Millennium Puzzle. "Yugi! Let go of the puzzle!" he shouted in vain.

"It's no use, he won't let go. Dammit..." the blond looked around frantically, eyes landing on a pair of metal poles. He snatched them up, thrusting one at Honda. The two took turns hitting the metal ring that secured the puzzle, trying to loosen it.

Yami was amazed at the loyalty of his friends as well as his aibou. As he watched, an idea suddenly struck him.

"This isn't working!" Honda shouted, the brunette exasperated.

"We can't give up!" Jounouchi cried, grabbing the puzzle and pulling back with all his might. Yami took this moment to vanish back into the puzzle, channeling his voice to the blond quickly.

Jounouchi took a step back when he saw the unnatural flash of light in the eye of the puzzle, but heard a strong, familiar voice in his head. "Jounouchi! Pull the ring out with the pole!"(1)

Jounouchi blinked. "What was that?" His eyes widened as he looked up at the metal ring, catching sight of Honda's pole hovering beside it. "Honda! Put the pole through the ring and we'll pull it out!"

The brunette's eyes lit up and he nodded, threading the pole through the ring and both teens grabbing on. "One, Two, Three- PULL" Together they grunted, putting all their effort into prying the ring out. Yami appeared outside of the puzzle again just as they succeeded. Honda scooped Yugi into his arms and all three fleeing the building, the spirit following after them relieved.

"Yugi!" Anzu shouted as she caught sight of them.

"Yugi's ok, Anzu," Honda panted.

"I can't believe he completed the puzzle in that fire," Jounouchi sighed, looking down at the object still clutched in Yugi's hands. "The puzzle is what bonds them together."

* * *

Yugi had to stay in the hospital for the night for observations. He had been in the fire the longest and had needed the most attention, but he would be fine. Yami waited until Yugi had fallen asleep before returning to the puzzle and stepping out of his soul room. He crossed the hall to peer into Yugi's room, smiling softly at seeing his aibou seated on his bed and playing with one of the various toys that littered the floor.

"Aibou?"

Yugi looked up at Yami startled. "Mou hitori no boku!" He smiled, looking sleepy.

Yami couldn't help but smile in return, moving to sit beside Yugi. "You risked your life for me today..."

The shorter teen looked away, blushing slightly. "I couldn't leave you there..."

Yami faced Yugi fully, resting his hands on the teen's shoulders. "You could have died...just to save me. You should have saved yourself. If Honda and Jounouchi hadn't arrived when they did-"

"It was my fault," Yugi cut him off, voice choked with emotion. Amethyst eyes met violet, tears shimming in them. "It was my fault we got into that situation. If I had left the puzzle behind I'd never see you again." Yugi looked away, closing his eyes as tears managed to escape. "I had to finish the puzzle...if only to see you one last time and...and..."

Yami moved a hand to cup Yugi's cheek and turn his face back towards him, wiping at the tears with his thumb. "Aibou..."

Yugi's lower lip trembled and suddenly collapsed against Yami's chest, unable to fight the sobs that wracked his small body for several moment, the spirit unable to do anything more that hold him until the tears slowed. Finally able to catch his breath, Yugi looked up at Yami again, something in his eyes telling the spirit that his aibou had something he needed to say but feared the response.

"Yugi, you know you can tell me anything," Yami told him warmly, one hand curled around Yugi's waist, the other rubbing his back in small circles.

Yugi nodded slightly. "I...I have to...After today...I realize just how horrible I would feel if I lost you without telling you..." he paused, drawing in a breath and closing his eyes. "I...love you."

Yami smiled, moving his hand from Yugi's back to cup his chin and tip his head back, bring his face close until they were a breath apart. With a small smirk, he whispered "I know" before stealing his aibou's first kiss.

Startled, Yugi pushed away from Yami. "Wh-what!?"

The spirit chuckled, laying down and pulling Yugi with him. "My aibou, I had figured that out almost before you did. I just wanted you to say it before I told you that I loved you too."

Yugi blushed, pouting a bit. "W-well..."

"Hush now," Yami said, his voice gentle, but firm. "You need to rest. We'll talk about this later, aibou." He smiled, kissing Yugi's forehead, smiling as the teen snuggle against his chest.

* * *

AN: 1) First, I'm not 100% sure what Yami says, the translation could have been better. Also, this scene was randomly deleted from the dub. I don't see what's wrong with Jounouchi getting advice from Yami via the puzzle. The only thing I can think is that they were trying to maintain the belief that only Yugi can talk to Yami? *shrugs* I say either watch subbed Yu-Gi-Oh or Yugioh the Abridged Series. The first is accurate, the second is freaking hilarious.

*Slams head on desk* Guh...tired. I think my cat has a super power. And that power is the ability to make me sleepy. I was fine and writing along and then I lost my train of though and got tired because my cat demanding to lay on my lap, purr at me, and try to coerce me into going to bed.

So I hope the ending makes sense. I know it's not a chapter, but I got distracted by a 50% off Papa Johns Pizza coupon and whipping my roommate's butt at Yu-Gi-Oh (well, the final score was like 2-3 in my favor).

Sleep time for me now. I'm off on Friday and Sunday. I'll try to make up for the slow updates :3


	19. Little Moments Like These

AN: Just a short little one shot based off another country song (I like a variety of music, I swear!) called "Little Moments". Just a little idea I had. It has Puzzle, Bronze, Puppy, and Tendershipping in it! OMG!

Now I know what you're thinking: Why haven't there been more one shots!? I'm trying to finish hikari no Yami no Game in time for Ryou's birthday so lots of writing is going there. If you havne't read it, you should, people tell me it's good! :x

For serious now, this is short and fluffy and maybe a touch out of character, but I thought it was cute. How you like it!

* * *

**Puzzle**

Yami gaped at Yugi as the latter pulled out what had once been the former Pharaoh's favorite leather pants. Amethyst eyes stared at the end result, horrified that they had ended up in the wash.

"Fuck." The word had slipped out of the teens mouth before he had a chance to realize it had even come to mind. Amethyst eyes widened and he hugged the wet, black material to his, trying to hide his face in shame for having breathed the word to life.

Yami blinked at Yugi, just as shocked as his lover by the word that had left the innocent teen's mouth. Seeing how red the other's face had gotten, Yami couldn't help but smile, closing the distance between them and taking the ruined pants from Yugi's hands and laying it aside before hugging him.

"It's alright, aibou. I can get another pair." He chuckled feeling Yugi hug him in return, tears shining in those lovely eyes. "No tears. It's fine."

* * *

**Bronze**

Marik awoke to a strange, blaring noise that was echoing through the house. Looking up, he sniffed the air tentatively.

"Smoke?" the yami climbed out of bed, dragging on a pair of pants as he went to investigate. He could hear his hikari in the kitchen panicking and swearing in both Egyptian and Japanese. Marik poked his head into the room, peering though the black smoke at Malik, who was armed with a fire extinguisher. "Are you blowing shit up without me? You know how much I like blowing shit up," the yami pouted.

Malik turned around, the fire extinguisher falling from his hands and a dejected look on his face. The wild-haired blond crossed over to him, making a face. "What?"

Malik closed his eyes, coughing a bit and shaking his head. "Today is sort of like your birthday and I wanted to make something for you...but I lost track of time and..." he sighed, looking down at his hands, which were trembling. "Sorry..."

Marik rolled his eyes and hugged Malik. "Stupid hikari," he muttered softly, petting his back. He spotted the stove, covered in white frothy stuff, and the charred remains of what may have been a delicious cake. A wicked grin crossed his face and he almost burst into laughter until he felt Malik trembling in his arms. With a sigh, he led his hikari to the couch and set about opening windows.

'I'm so taking pictures of that shit and sending them to Bakura,' he thought, allowing himself to chuckle when he was out of range of Malik.

* * *

**Puppy**

"We've been driving for hours. Shouldn't we be there by now?" Seto grumbled, hands gripping the steering wheel tightly.

"Yeah..." Jounouchi muttered beside him. He dug out the directions had had gotten and reviewed them for the first time since they left the interstate. "Lesse...we're in...Ohio and we got off this exit...and then go ri- ... o..oh..."

"Oh?" the CEO growled, pulling the car off to the side of the road and snatching the paper from the blond. "You told me to go left."

"I...um...sorry," Jounouchi muttered, covering his face with one hand. "Dammit, I totally screwed us up. We've been driving for two hours since then."

Seto reviewed the directions, looking up at the darkening sky.

"Sorry," the blond muttered again. Seto sighed, a hint of exasperation in the act, but shifted the car into gear again.

"Well, we'll just have to stop somewhere for the night." He pulled out his cell phone as he drove, but thought better of it and set it aside. Instead, he took Jounouchi's hand. "Next time I'll read the directions and you can drive, Katsuya."

"Really?" the blond grinned, squeezing Seto's hand. "Hey, so long as we're stopping, lets get something to eat. I'm starving!"

The CEO nodded, a small smile slipping onto his face. 'I don't mind being lost with my puppy so long as he's happy,' he though.

* * *

**Tender**

Bakura kicked his feet up onto the coffee table, stretching his arms along the back of the couch while Ryou picked out a movie for them to watch. Something the thief hadn't seen before called "Godzilla". He had been assured that he would enjoy it.

Ryou smiled, coming to cuddle against the thief as the movie started to play. As they watched it Bakura had to admit that, while it was obviously an old movie, it wasn't that bad. It made him laugh at least. Nearing the end of the movie, the thief flexed his fingers, noting a distinct numbness in his right arm from being laid on by Ryou. Bakura looked down at his hikari, about to tell him to move when he saw that he had fallen asleep. Despite the desire to move his arm, he just couldn't bring himself to disturb Ryou..

Slipping the remote from the teen's hand, Bakura turned off the movie and the TV. He pressed a kiss to the top of his hikari's head, trying not to wake him as he got comfortable. With a content sigh, he rested his cheek against the soft white hair, smiling genuinely as he started to drift off himself.

* * *

AN: Hope you liked it. It was fluffy. Like Bakura's hair! :D! *runs away!*


	20. September 2nd

AN: Well, since Hikari no Yami no Game isn't getting done today, let's see if I can get this posted before midnight!

* * *

Ryou slowly opened his eyes to find himself standing outside his front door. After a moment of confusion, he sighed and looked at his watch.

"Well, school's been out for three hours. And it's still the same day it was when I woke up..." chocolate brown eyes closed wearily as the teen dug out his house key. "Let's see. I woke up, showered, ate breakfast, and then left home and got on the bus. I guess the spirit took over...when I sat down?" Ryou looked at the key in his hand and turned away from the door to sit on the stoop.

"I wonder is anyone remembered today? I only really told Yugi, but that was months ago. Then again, even my yami forgot it seems. But with this whole mess with the Millennium Items, I guess it's to be expected..." Ryou looked up at the sky, studying the stray clouds that passed by. "I guess I'm just used to it now. Really haven't had anything to celebrate since the accident anyway. Dad's always gone. All I've had to look forward to is yami giving me a day off...and he didn't even do that today. I just hope he didn't hurt anyone..."

With one last sigh, Ryou got back to his feet and turned around and unlocked the door. "Guess I'll watch a movie or something...order take out so I don't have to cook." Opening the door, he peered around curiously. "That's odd...why is it so dark in here?" he wondered aloud. He had just pushed the door closed behind him when the lights suddenly came on.

"Surprise! Happy Birthday Ryou!"

Ryou was indeed surprised and stumbled back against the door, hand over his heart as he was greeted by the smiling faces of Yugi, Anzu, Jounouchi, Honda, Otogi, Malik, Isis, Rishid, and Mokuba. Seto was there as well, but he was hardly smiling and had only offered an exasperated and weak "Surprise".

"E-everyone's here?" the white haired teen looked around wide-eyed. Yugi laughed, coming over to grab Ryou's arm and drag him into the decorated living room.

"Of course!" he laughed.

"We've been busy decorating since school let out," Anzu smiled, coming to taking Ryou's other hand. "Come come, there's presents and pizza and-"

"Cake! Man can we start with the cake?" Jounouchi grinned, placing his hands on Ryou's shoulders from behind and giving his a nudge.

"W-wait a minute, since school let out? How did you all get in?" Ryou managed to asked before he was planted in the chair at the head of the table.

"Oh, _someone_ let us in," Malik smiled, putting a pointed, colorful party hat on the pale teen's head before donning one himself.

"Someone?" Ryou asked, looking up at the Egyptian. "Oh!" /Bakura?/ Ryou asked through their mind link.

//Yes yes, happy birthday. Enjoy it while you can, this is only a temporary truce, yadonushi,// Bakura replied huffily. //Just don't let the Pharaoh have any cake. He's been warned.//

Ryou giggled, smiling brightly. He didn't care what kind of deal had been made between his friends and his yami, he was just happy to be surrounded by them.

Presents were opened and food was consumed over cheerful conversation. The cake (which had Duel Monsters drawn on it) was brought out and Ryou almost started to cry with he saw, in what he recognized as Bakura's handwriting, "Happy Birthday Ryou and Amane"

"Hey, who is Amane anyway?" Anzu asked while Honda and Otogi argued over who should serve the cake.

"My twin sister," Ryou sniffled, brushing away tears. "She and my mother died in an accident a few years ago." A beautiful smile broke on his face before any sympathy could be offered and the subject was dropped as Seto snatched the knife and deftly set about cutting the cake.

Ryou was just turning to ask Malik something when the Millennium Ring suddenly flashed and the teen found himself hovering behind his body.

"Damn it, Pharaoh, I told you you couldn't have any cake!" Bakura snarled, getting to his feet, hands gripping the table.

"Yugi said I could have his piece," Yami replied evenly, taking a bite.

"Like hell!"

Yugi's spirit came to stand beside Ryou's, offered a small, apologetic smile. "Sorry, I didn't think he'd notice..."

Ryou laughed, watching the two yamis arguing. "It's fine. This is the best birthday I've ever had. And beside, it wouldn't be the same if they didn't try to kill each other, right?"

Yugi laughed as well, moving to try and rationalize with Yami. Ryou sighed, still giggling occasionally.

/Thank you, Bakura./

//Eh. Happy Birthday, Ryou.//

* * *

AN: Just under the wire! Happy Birthday Ryou :3


	21. Of Yamis and Hiakris

AN: This is short. Really short. Like "why did I post this?" short. But I thought it was cute so I'm sharing!

It's Yamishipping ans Hikarishipping because I got an idea. I just didn't know where to take it from there...But I had to write it and get it out of my head. It was interfering with my next chapter of Hikari no Yami no Game. I'm determined to finish that story so I can get on to my other stories :p

* * *

The sun was just peering over the horizon when the usual morning beeping started. One arm stretched out from under the sheets, ripping the device from it's home on the side table and flinging it lazily to the floor. Undeterred, the clock switched to a loud, static garbled voice that, in the owner of the arm's opinion, was too cheerful. With a groan, he searched for the noisy device when it stopped, a light thump on the table informing him that the demon device had been silenced.

With some grumbling, the pale yami's arm retracted under his pillow and he resettled. Yami couldn't help the sly smirk that crossed his lips and he leaned down to kiss the thief on the back of the head, inhaling his scent before reaching a hand to pet Marik's cheek, the blond not seeming to react to either the alarm going off or the former Pharaoh's touch.

Exiting the room quietly, Yami saw that Ryou was just doing the same. Chocolate eyes met crimson and they nodded to each other.

It had become a ritual in the shared household that Ryou and Yami were the first ones up. That Bakura would feebly try to kill the alarm clock. That Malik was more than likely hogging off of the blankets in the hikari's room and that Ryou had to detach a sleeping Yugi from him before he could get out of bed.

The duo made breakfast and had the table set just as their sleepy lovers started to come down stairs, Marik bounding down first and stealing a piece of bacon from Bakura's plate. Malik and Yugi followed next hand in hand, both greeting Ryou with a kiss before starting on their plates. Bakura was always the last to arrive. Yami would give him his bacon and go without. He never cared for it as much.

* * *

AN: And I don't know where to go with this next. But I thought it was a cute idea for the start of a Yami- / Hikarishipping story. Any ideas? Or did this give you ideas?

*Goes back to Hikari no Yami no Game chapter 9*


	22. Yami Marik's Back Story

AN: This story arose from questions that I asked myself. Like "Well, if the Ka spirits come out of people, where did the gods come from?" And "why is Marik so bad ass when he uses Ra?" Things like that.

Please note I call Yami Marik "Marik" and regular Marik "Malik" in this story. It's so we don't get too confused. Also in subsequent stories, Marik's real name is Rameses. I left it as Marik here to be less confusing.

* * *

Three brothers stood at the gates of the palace, each wearing no more than a shenti and carrying a satchel of personal belongings.

The youngest, fifteen year old Petri, drew in a shaky breath, hugging his bag against him. "So...we just walk in?" he asked, looking to his older brothers for confirmation. He wasn't normally so timid, but the thought of just walking into the palace, no matter how noble their intentions, made the boy tremble. His long sand-colored hair hung around his shoulders and framed his still-young face that clung stubbornly to the last traces of boyhood.

The crimson eyes of sixteen year old Rajan met his blue gaze, a confident grin on the old teen's face. "We'll be fine. Marik came by earlier and told them we were coming. Don't worry so much Petri." his hair was the same sand-color as his younger but was cut short, hanging only to the bottom of his ears.

The oldest at eighteen, Marik looked back at his brothers, amber eyes flashing with excitement. His hair, the same color, stood up in a fashion that was said to be similar if not more wild than the Pharaoh's eight year old son. "Are we just going to stand here and admire the masonry or are we going to go inside and talk to the captain of the guards?" He grinned as his young brothers gave him a firm, resolute nod and began marching to the grand entrance.

The three boys had grown up the sons of a simple family. Not even a year ago their father, Sakani, had met his untimely end, leaving his wife alone with their five children. They had left their mother and two younger sisters behind to seek better employment so as to support them. Marik had been the one to suggest the palace where they could work for the Pharaoh. He was certain that at least Rajan and himself could be employed as guards. It would be hard and dangerous work, but the eldest had always enjoyed a challenge.

"Ah Marik, to what do I owe the pleasure of seeing you here today?" a familiar voice made Marik grin, amber eyes turning to meet it's owner.

"Hello master Siamun," he grinned to the short man. "I didn't cause any trouble this time."

"Oh? That's hard to believe," the old advisor teased. "Are you certain you three haven't been sent here for another reprimand from the guard captain?"

"Oh, no sir!" Petri piped up, grinning sheepishly. "This time we're not in trouble."

"Yet," Rajan added, crimson eyes flashing.

"We've been good for at least eight seasons now," the youngest muttered.

"Exactly," Marik nodded. "We've decided it was time to stop others from causing trouble instead of causing more of our own."

Siamun appraised the trio with wise eyes before smiling. "Yes, I see that. Well, I'll leave you to your task then."

"Thank you," Marik bowed, arms crossing over his chest in a sign of respect. His brothers imitated the gesture and the trio parted ways with Siamun.

'About time those three grew up. They've become fine young men, really.'

* * *

Marik and his brother stood before the guard captain and wielder of the scared Millennium Ring. He was a strong man with dark eyes and shoulder-length black hair. He wore only a shenti, as was common among the guards, and the sacred item stood out impressively against his broad, well-toned chest. His skin was a deeper tan than most due to the several hours of training he put his men during the hottest times of the day. He eyes the three familiar faces that stood before him now, powerful arms crossing over his chest.

"You'll understand if I'm harder on you three than most candidates," he said in a gruff voice, a smirk crossing his features.

"I'd be insulted if you weren't," Marik smirk, hands resting on his hips. He had a deep respect of the guard captain, which shone in his amber eyes. Their paths had crossed many times in the teen's mischievous past, but today he was here only to prove himself worthy of a position under this man.

With a nod, the man gestured to his right. "Leave your belongings here and each of you take a staff. Let me see what you're capable of."

* * *

Hours passed and soon Ra was sinking into the horizon, the sky slowly darkening in his retreat. Marik still clung to his training staff, sweat glistening on his skin as he leaned his full weight on the weapon, amber eyes watching the guard captain.

"That's enough for today I suppose," the man drawled, lowering his weapon. "I must say you and Rajan aren't bad, Marik. Petri could do with some work, but there's promise in him as well." He nodded. "There is but one final trial for today then. Afterwards I will give you my decision."

Marik sighed, grinning triumphantly. "Name it."

With a motion of his hand, two of the priests entered the spacious courtyard, one baring the Millennium Scales the other the Millennium Rod. Petri and Rajan came to their brother's side, curiously looking to the priests.

"You will now be judged by our three Millennium Items," the guard captain spoke reverently. "We must see if you bare a dangerous Ka spirit before we consider you eligible to guard those here in the palace.

Marik drew in a sharp breath. He had heard of Ka spirits. He had been only ten when the term had first been uttered and such beings started to become as commonplace as the sand. It was said that everyone had a Ka that grew in the shadow of the heart. It hadn't occurred to him that he and his brothers might bare a dangerous spirit within them until they stood before the Millennium Items. Despite the worry starting to build within him, he steeled his nerves and showed strong determination for his siblings.

"We will start with the youngest," the priest holding the Millennium Rod spoke, pointing his item at Petri. The rod glowed golden in the fading light, illuminating the man's face. His eyes suddenly went wide at the blue glow that formed against the young teen's skin.

Petri brought his arms up to hug himself at the sensation flooding through him. He staggered a few steps back, his eyes taking on a soft yellow glow as the shadows seemed to collect around him. With a startled cry, a surge of energy exploded from the small teen and a towering figured materialized behind him.

The priest's arm holding the Millennium Rod dropped to his side at the unbelievable sight. The creature he had released from the youth towered over anything he had seen before save perhaps Exodia, Siamun's former Ka spirit who had been sealed. As quickly as it had appeared, the blue Ka spirit roared, shaking the ground and sweeping those gathered before him with a searing wind before dissipating. The glow faded from Petri and the teen fell to his hands and knees, gasping for breath.

Marik stared in disbelief at his youngest brother, barely catching snatches of the priests mutterings. The guard captain had breathed out the word prophesy at one point he had thought, but he was more concerned in making certain his brother were well.

"Th-then...let us see what lies in your heart young Rajan." The Millennium Rod rose again, aiming at the crimson eyed teen.

Rajan, like his brother before him, attained a glow that flickered to life against his skin, though his was a crimson to match his eyes. Hands few to grab at his hair, wide eyes glowing yellow as the creature was released from within. An immense red dragon appeared in the sky, massive head looming over the priests. It's lower mouth parted to reveal sharp teeth and it roared loudly, the three Millennium Item holders taking a terrified step back despite themselves. Smoke curled from the dragons second mouth above the first before the creature receded back into Rajan, the teen sinking to his knees and trying to regain his breath.

Petri, who had recovered from his ordeal, rushed to Rajan's side, one hand rubbing his brother's back.

"What is going on out here?"

"M-m-master Akunadin!" the man wielding the Millennium Scales gasped. Guards were beginning to filter out into the courtyard is inspect the terrible noises that had been echoing into the night sky.

"Send these people away, we are conducting a Millennium Trial," the priest with the Millennium Rod snapped.

"Out here in the open?" Akunadin glared at the priests with his good eye before looking at Marik, the only one still standing. He gasped, turning back to the guards and ordering them away. With a glance to the two boys kneeling on the ground, he looked at Marik again. "You there, gather your brothers and follow me. As for you three," he said, looking to the priests. "I would see you in my chambers momentarily."

* * *

Marik laughed richly as he sat back against the wall, a plate of fruit and bread the likes of which he'd never tasted before balanced in one hand as he raised a toast to his brothers with the other. "This is beyond anything I could have dreamed!" he cheered, tipping his head back and taking a deep drink. "Forget being mere guards, we could be candidates to wield Millennium Items! At least you two can!"

"I don't know, brother," Petri mumbled, picking at his plate. "They ran off to talk about us...maybe we're in trouble..."

"Nonsense!" Marik leaned forward and set his cup aside. "All we need now is to have some fancy name to call your Ka spirits. Something impressive and memorable! Something to strike fear in the hearts of evil and be a rallying cry for justice! Let's see..." he tapped his finger against his chin before setting his plate down and getting to his feet. "I have the perfect name for yours, Petri! Obelisk."

"Obelisk?" The blue eyed teen looked up, head tilted slightly. "Why Obelisk?"

"I know why," Rajan nodded. "It's impressive. The size and shape of your Ka Spirit was...well it was breath-taking to say the least!" The middle brother laughed, clapping his brother on the back. "Didn't know you'd have something like that in you!"

"Obelisk..." Petri tested out the name again.

"Hmm, it needs something else though. Something...powerful..." Marik paced the floor a bit before snapping his fingers. "Obelisk the Giant God Soldier!"

"Hey, that might be going too far," Rajan warned. "Throwing god in there like that...isn't that blasphemy?"

"I don't think so," the eldest grinned. "Ambitious maybe, but did you see the way the priests cowered before it? The _priests_! They wield many Ka Spirits, adding to their numbers by the day! If Petri's- no, if Obelisk was able to put the fear of god into them, why not call him the Giant God Soldier!"

Petri looked up thoughtfully before smiling brightly. "I...I think he likes that name," the teen said softly, placing a hand over his heart. "It feels right."

"See! Now for you Rajan. Hmm...something big...something...terrifyingly powerful...The Sky Dragon...who passes judgment..." Marik grinned, looking at Rajan.

The crimson-eyed teen gulped, feeling something stir within him, a soft yellow glow tinging his eyes for just a moment. "Osiris...the Sky Dragon."

Marik's grin widened and he nodded. "I like it. It's powerful and intimidating, just like your Ka."

"Is it really alright?" Petri asked quietly.

"Sure it is!" the eldest insisted, amber eyes flashing. "The gods smile in our favor, my brothers! With your Ka spirits, we can rise to the top of society! Stand at the right and left of the Pharaoh! There is nothing standing in our way!"

Rajan drew in a shaky breath, Marik's enthusiasm contagious. "I believe you are right, Marik. But what of your Ka? It has yet to be shown."

Marik closed his eyes and placed a hand on his chest. "I don't know. I think I can feel something slumbering in my heart. I don't know how to call it forth just yet, but even if it is nothing more than my eagerness, I am fine with that. It is you, my brothers, who should rejoice and your new found power. As I said, surely the gods smile upon us!"

Two guards entered the room followed by an older man, the Millennium Torque (aka Necklace) gleaming against his forehead. "We wish to speak to each brother individually," the man spoke, gray eyes resting on Petri, who quickly scrambled to his feet and bowed respectfully. "You, the youngest. We will see you first."

"Yes high Priest," he said quickly, looking back to his brothers with anticipation.

"Go on, Petri. We'll see you shortly!" Marik cheered him on. With a smile and a nod, the youngest brother was escorted from the room. The eldest laughed happily, whirling around and grabbing his cup again. "You see, Rajan! Speaking with us individually! They must be testing us to see if we could be worthy to inherit the power of the Millennium Items!"

"I think you're being over ambitious again my brother," Rajan chuckled, lifting his own cup to his lips. "They likely just want to test our Ka spirits."

"All the same, it's inevitable! With the power you and Petri wield, you each could easily succeed one of the priests!" Laughing still, Marik lifted his cup high into the air. "I know which one I'd choose. It would defiantly be that Millennium Rod."

"The item chooses the master, idiot," Rajan teased, tossing a grape at his elder brother. Marik moved quickly to catch the small orb in his mouth.

"Well, it should choose me because I want it," the elder teen chuckled, licking his lips. "But as you say, I am ambitious."

"We would see the next youngest," a guard announced from the doorway. Rajan got to his feet and held a hand out to Marik, who clutched it enthusiastically.

"Don't take too long, Rajan. You know I don't handle suspense very well."

"Just try not to set fire to anything," his brother laughed, turning away.

"One time..." Marik grumbled. Alone again he moved to the plate of grapes and plucked one from the bunch, idly rolling it between thumb and forefinger. "Everything's going to be good now, mother. Aasera. Zahira." Amber eyes fell closed as the teen smiled, recalling the faces of his mother and sisters. "Father, we will care for them in your stead. You have nothing to fear now. Be at peace."

"Your turn," the guard announced. Drawing in a deep breath through his nose, Marik exited the room, following behind the guard and trying to control his excitement. He was led into a lower chamber where even the torch light was scant. The guard left after he had escorted the teen and Marik moved toward a lone torch in the center of the room, assuming it was where he was meant to stand. He foot smacked against something on the floor and he paused, squinting through the dim lighting to try and perceive what he had hit.

His blood turned to ice at the sight of his youngest brother laying face down on the floor, some dark fluid glinting in the pale light. Stumbling back in confusion, amber eyes scanned the room, coming to rest on the crumpled form of Rajan not far away. His heart pounded in his ears and jaw fell slack as he sought an answer in the darkness.

"Step forward, Marik," a voice boomed. Marik spotted two priests standing just out of the torch light, the Millennium Rod glowing softly.

"Why...What did you do to them!?" Marik snapped, tears stinging his eyes as he brought his fists up to his chest defensively.

"Your brothers serve a greater purpose now," the priest spoke, taking a step forward.

The other priest stepped forward. "I had foreseen the coming of you three shortly after receiving my Millennium Torque. Three young men who harbored three great sleeping beasts within them. Those mighty creatures, whose names are unknown, would be used by the chosen Pharaoh in the hour of Egypt-nay, the world's greatest need. Only the chosen Pharaoh would know the names of these Egyptian Gods and be able to harness their power."

"Unfortunately," the other priest continued, lifting his Millennium Rod and pointing it at Marik. "These spirits are powerful indeed. So powerful that in sealing them into the stone tablets..." he trailed off, offering Marik an apologetic look which did nothing to quell his growing horror. "One cannot escape their fate, no matter how gruesome." The Millennium Rod glowed brightly, it's power surrounding Marik.

"No..._No_!" he shouted even as a glow began to engulf him. 'Gods no! Please stop this! Please, you can't take my brothers and I in such a way! Have we does something wrong? Please! Mercy!' Even as he silently prayed, a cry of raw pain and grief was torn from his throat. 'My brothers...Rajan! Petri! I...I didn't know it would be this way...Father...father please help me! Someone! Anyone!'

Marik stood, head tilted back as far as it would go and absently balancing on the balls of his feet as a brilliant light filled the room as if Ra himself had risen just within the small space. He heard the priests gasping in awe at the sight of the being that had emerged from the teen.

'Please...I call...I plead...I beg...Do you ignore me in my time of need? Why, gods! Why?' Slowly Marik's mind calmed and time seemed to stop for just a moment. He could hear only the pounding of his heart in his ears. Only feel the tears running down his face and the warmth that radiated from the Ka spirit that had been ripped from him soul and awakened outside of him, filling him with a cold chill in it's place. His feet were suddenly flat on the ground once more, head bowed and arms hanging limply at his sides.

'If...if the gods abandon me...' Amber eyes glowed like fire as he lifted his gaze suddenly to fix on the priests. Rage bubbled to the surface and he bared his teeth at the two men in a snarl, hands balling into fists. 'No, I will not die like this. My brothers, I will avenge you!'

"Quickly, seal it-" the priest with the Millennium Torque was saying, but Marik's voice roared, drowning him out.

"_**GOD PHOENIX!**_"

With a cry to match it's master's rage, the golden Ka spirit suddenly split open, flames burning away it's outer shell like kindling and becoming a creature of pure fire. The priest wielding the Millennium Rod barely escaped as the phoenix launched it's assault. The other priest was not as fortunate.

At the cry of alarm, guards began to swarm down the stairs, the first to arrive meeting the same end as the priest. The intense fire that raged from his Ka spirit seemed a mere flicker to the fire burning in his glare. Anger. Grief. Betrayal. Betrayal from the priests. From the gods. With a cry, he launched himself at the priest, leaving his Ka to deal with any who tried to stop him. He knocked the Millennium Rod aside and pinned the priest to the ground, hands clamping tightly around his throat.

"_**How dare you! What gave you the right to kill them!? I'll kill you!**_" he screeched, the phoenix crying out as well. A sadistic grin formed on the teen's features as he felt the man beneath him clawing at his arms and hands. Trying desperately to dislodge the teen so he could breathe. He could feel the pulse beneath his hands as he quickened and then began to slow as his grip tightened. He laughed manically. _'Yes! Yes! Die! Die like my brothers! May Ammit devour you slowly!'_

A sudden pain lanced through him, making his breath catch in his throat. His grip began to loosen and he was aware of something warm running down his back and front. Glancing down he saw a sharpened, golden tip protruding from his chest, a sickening realization dawning on him.

"I am sorry, Marik," the captain of the guard spoke quietly, holding the Millennium Rod in place. He looked back to see through blurring vision his Ka spirit being forced into a stone tablet by Akunadin and the priest who held the Millennium Scales. His breaths came in panicked gasps as he felt his life seeping away.

'I'm sorry...Rajan...I'm sorry, Petri...' With a final, ragged breath, his eyes fell closed.

* * *

Amber eyes opened slowly, shocked that they did at all. The teen looked around to find himself in a room that, while unfamiliar, seemed suited to his tastes. The stone walls were adorned with great tapestries that that depicted all his greatest dreams and the furnishings were as lavish as any to be foudn in the palace.

But the room was cold. Deathly so, like a tomb. Marik climbed to his feet and moved to a barrier that seemed to block the only exit. He pushed against the cold metal but it refused to yield. He tugged on the handle that protruded from one side of the door only to find it, too, refused to be moved.

'Is this the after life?' he wondered, looking around. 'It can't be...I was never judged...I...where am I? Where are my brothers?' Again he felt tears run down his face as he looked around his prison. "I know in the end I was wrong! Don't I deserve to at least be judged? Hello? ANYONE!?"

* * *

Time passed, but it was meaningless to the lost soul trapped within his room. The great tapestries in time came to lay in tattered heaps of fabric as Marik tore at them either from trying to scale them or in anguish that his dreams would never be fulfilled. Over time the room he was confined to grew darker and colder still and even his proud amber eyes dulled.

He did, however, feel the presence of other souls nearby. As if they lingered tauntingly just outside the metal barrier that barred his only means for escape. The door and walls bore the brunt of his declining sanity as he hit at them with fists and whatever else he had in hand. He had clawed and screamed, begging for some sort of relief. He would have welcomed death, even if it meant being fed to Ammit or some more horrid fate.

The times he slept were short lived and fitful, only feeding his loneliness with memories of the life that had been stolen from him.

Slowly he became focused on one thing, however. A deep longing for revenge. He recalled the priests saying something about a chosen Pharaoh. He wanted to find that Pharaoh. Wanted to find him and make him suffer as he had suffered. Not just kill him, but send with him his allies or family or dogs. He didn't care what, something was going to die with that Pharaoh, whoever he was.

That drive for vengeance against the nameless, faceless Pharaoh gave Marik something to cling to, and he tied himself to the idea. He just needed a way out of his prison. Just needed someone who could open the door for him.

When Malik Ishtar was born, he felt something deep inside him stir. Something he hadn't felt in millennia. A grin formed on Marik's face and he pressed his hands against the barrier that contained him, dragging his tongue against the cold steel as if trying to taste the other's presence. He laughed, listening to it echo around the room.

"Come to me, Malik. Come to me with your hatred and loneliness. Let me out of this prison and into your heart and soul." He threw his head back and laughed.

* * *

AN: Ok, that was kind of creepy, but I think it's a suitable back story. Explains some things in my opinion. What do you think?


	23. Back From The Shadows

AN: If you didn't read chapter 22, you might want to. Not required, but I liked it :p

This sort of continues on with that train of thought, but it's post Battle City. And that's all I'll say. :x

Enjoy!

* * *

Months had passed since the end of the Battle City tournament. Their mission completed, the Tomb Keepers had begun the arduous task of dismantling the ancient home of all who had come before them. There were countless documents and books that needed to be gone through, hieroglyphs to be documented, and decisions to be made.

For the three Ishtar siblings, it was only a matter of time before they could finally seal the underground home they had known and move on with their lives.

Malik knew, however, that under the Pharaoh had completed his mission and he himself had seen it's end with his own eyes, he would never be fully able to move forward. The scars on his back were a constant reminder.

Carrying an arm load of books Isis had deemed safe to donate to the museum, the youngest Ishtar carefully began loading them into the back of the waiting car, which Rishid would drive. Malik preferred the freedom of riding his motorcycle to the cramped, suffocating confines a such transportation, but it was the fastest way to reach the remote location and didn't involve trying to navigate the shifting sand with only two wheels.

As he close the trunk, a soft noise reached his ears. Glancing around, he shook his head, thinking it had been his imagination. The second time, he froze, lilac eyes wide and searching.

"Ph-pharaoh..."

"Who's there?" Malik called, searching for the source of the voice.

"...O...osiris...--lisk...Raa..."

The voice was hoarse and full of pain. Circling the car, his eyes widened further. On the ground, curled tightly and nude, lay a man covered head to toe in a thick layer of ash. His hair, almost black with the substance, lay stiffly splayed in the sand and dull, gray eyes stared half-lidded straight head.

Malik dropped to one knee, yelling over his shoulder for Rishid and Isis, hoping his siblings would hear him. He tried to brush the ash and soot from the man's face but it clung to him stubbornly like a second skin.

"What happened? Can you understand me?" he asked the man, nimble fingers searching for other injuries. The eyes shifted, peering up at Malik as if they were trying to figure out who he was. He spoke again in a weak, distorted voice.

"Tomb...ke...pers..."

Rishid appeared behind Malik, quickly removing his shirt and laying it over the man's hips as Isis arrived. "We need to get him inside," the taller man said, gingerly scooping the disoriented stranger into his arms and moving for the entrace.

"He knows too much to just be here by chance," Malik said, following after his adopted brother. "He said something about the Pharaoh and the Gods."

Isis frowned. "We have to find out what he knows. I'll get some water."

* * *

Not wanting to move the man until he had been properly questioned, the siblings opted to spend the night at least and see if he recovered. Rishid offered to stay at his side for the first half of the night, Malik insisting that he would keep a vigil for the second half so his brother could rest as well.

The young Ishtar sat quietly during his watch, only moving to pour the occasional small sips of water into the man's mouth to try and get him to drink. Rishid had managed to remove some of the ash from the man's face, but it hadn't given them any clues to his identity aside from him being Egyptian. Malik did feel that he should know this man, however. Something about the shape of his face, but he currently lay in a deep sleep and his features were completely slack.

With a soft sigh, the blond pulled out his cell phone to see that the sun would be rising soon. With a final glance to the man, he ventured up to the surface to enjoy the start of the new day. It had become his personal ritual since escaping the underground home and experiencing the warm brush of sunlight against his skin as a child.

Just as the pastel colors were starting to fade into the blue morning sky, Isis came rushing up the steps.

"Malik! Where is he?"

"He's not in bed?" the teen leapt to his feet, rushing down the steps two at a time. "He was completely out when I left!"

"You left him alone!? Really Malik!" she called, racing after him.

"Well, he can't have gone far. Stay here to make sure he doesn't leave this way, I'll get Rishid!" he called back over his shoulder.

Isis clasped her hands over her chest, standing at the base of the stairs and peering down the torch-lit corridors anxiously. 'It's alright...if he tries to come this way, he should be too weak to fight me off...' she silently prayed she would be right.

An hour passed and Rishid and Malik met with Isis to admit they had come up empty handed. Rishid climbed to the entrace to close the huge doors and set the alarm so all three siblings could search once more, taking their time to check the more remote areas.

Malik was just entering the library when Isis' scream echoed against the stone walls. "Sister!" he cried, turning and racing toward the sleeping quarters.

* * *

Isis backed herself into a corner, blue eyes wide with disbelief at the man standing in the middle of her room. He rolled the collar of the tank top he was wearing between his thumb and forefinger, eyes a shade of dark lavender inspecting the light blue fabric with scrutiny. He had somehow managed to clean nearly every trace of ash from his body and hair, the latter of which was now platinum blond and standing proudly in it's familiar pointed style. Aside from the blue tank top he was modeling, he wore a pair of khaki cargo pants he had taken from one of the open bags at his feet. (they kept some clothes there packed in suitcases in case they needed to stay over night)

"Hiakri's sister may be right," he hummed to himself, his voice still sounding a bit strained from whatever ordeal had left him in the desert. "This color top doesn't really suit me...or does it..." He made a face as if he couldn't decide, ignoring the bangle Isis threw in his direction.

"G-get out!" he shouted at him, dragging a chair to place it between herself and the blond.

"I think I like it actually...it's not a bad color..." he mused. "Maybe I should put the black one on again..." he raised his other hand, knocking the second thrown bracelet away.

Rishid burst into the room and, after a moments hesitation, quickly moved to grab the man by the shoulders. Lavender eyes raised to meet burning amber and the man tilted his head curiously. "What do you think? Is it a good color?"

Before Rishid could come up with some sort of reply, Malik appeared in the door way, eyes wide with shock.

"H-how? How did you come back?" the blond managed to ask. The man peered at the teen for a brief moment before grinning widely and ducking out of Rishid's grip to launch himself at the startled Malik, wrapping him in a tight embrace and leaning back until his victim's feet left the ground for a second.

"Hikari! Hi! Did you miss me?" the wild blond chirped, setting Malik back on the ground but not releasing him from the embrace.

Lilac eyes sought Isis as the young Egyptian managed to whimper a small plea for help before Rishid pried the two apart and glared down at the yami.

"What, Bastard?" he questioned, tone implying that Rishid's name was "Bastard". The tall tomb keeper frowned down at him.

"How did you return and attain a solid form?" Rishid asked, determined to protect his younger siblings.

Marik tilted his head to one side and blinked up at the other before tugging on the collar of his tank top and looking around at them. "I like this color after all. Can I keep it?"

"That's Isis' shirt!" Malik snapped, peering around Rishid.

"Hmm, I thought it seemed odd..." he looked at the woman still pressed into the corner of the room. "Can I keep it, Hikari's sister? I think I like it."

* * *

After much debating, Malik found himself sitting across a table from Marik, who was amusing himself with a bowl of soup. He was carefully nudging the lentils around and trying to make an image of some sort while Isis insisted he stop playing with his food as he was still recovering. He couldn't help be smile at the focused look as the yami seemed completely devoted to completing whatever image he was trying to make and shook his head.

Marik sat in a black tank top now, not because Isis had wanted the blue one back (she had in fact demanded he keep it) but because the yami was still in debate about how much he liked the color. Malik couldn't decide if he should be calling Yugi and asking for Yami to come out to Egypt or if this was something that was meant to be. After all, the once homicidal blond seemed to have left that particular trait in the shadows. And he still hadn't revealed to them how he had returned, attained a body, or why he had been so weak and covered in ash.

For the time being, at least, it was decided that Marik would have to stay with them. At least until the Pharaoh's mission was complete and if only to keep him from causing trouble.

If Isis or Rishid didn't strangle Marik first, that is.

* * *

AN: There we are. And that's how Marik got back together with the Ishtars.

Well, that's the version I"m telling for now. It might be what I have happen in HnYnG too. Still deciding, but I still wanted to write it :3


	24. The Prince and the Thief

AN: A little something I tossed together while my computer had virus-removing stuff running. The idea came from looking up the song from Final Fantasy VI (Final Fantasy 3 If you played in in America on the SNES). You know, the opera song that Celes sings? Aria de Mezzo Carattera?

Well I got this idea and it's written and now you can read it. So there.

Enjoy!

* * *

Long ago there was a kingdom where lived a young prince of pale skin and long, snowy hair. He was regarded as a treasure to the people of the kingdom and, as it neared time for him to choose a wife and take the throne, nobles sent their daughters and neighboring kingdoms their princesses in hopes that the kind prince might take favor to them.

But the prince found he was unhappy with his life. True it was that he had wealth and loyalty. That he had food beyond compare and warm shelter. These things, however, had lost appeal as he had grown and he wished for another life. One where his choices were not dictated by traditions and false happiness. Where he did not feel pressured by his parents to marry this girl or that because it would "benefit the kingdom". He wanted, as many of royalty so seek in these stories, true love. To be loved by another wholly for who he was inside not just for his outer beauty or his status.

It was one dreary day while out on a ride with two servants for protection that the prince dared to try and escape the shackles of the crown he would soon wear, feigning that his horse had merely been frightened while urging it to run faster, deeper and deeper into the forest until he hoped and prayed he would not be found.

And yet found he was as he had paused by a small stream to water his mount. But the man who had found him was not one of his servants. This man stood taller than him and wore a long red cloak over plain black clothes. He was deeply tanned and had a scar that ran from his right eye to his chin and his eyes were a deep violet half hidden by his white, messy hair. He feared at first the man meant him harm as he recognized him to be a thief who's face had adorned many wanted posters.

The thief, however, seemed stunned at finding the prince alone in the woods and, contrary to his notorious nature, had come offering shelter and company. They had talked all that night of their dreams and desires and a bond was formed between them. When dawn came, the prince was dismayed to hear the familiar voices of servants and guards calling to him. The thief had taken a ring from his own finger and given it to the prince as a vow that he would one day come for him. In return the prince gave him a ring of his own and the promise was sealed by the thief stealing the other's first kiss before vanishing.

The prince waited every night on his balcony, wishing for the thief to steal him away, unafraid of what life might await him, only knowing that he needed the other man in his life. On the twelfth night the kingdom was attacked and the prince found himself locked within the dungeon and stripped of everything save the ring the thief had given him. The prince was only brought up to the throne room every third night at the bequest of the usurper and forced to play the harp for him while he ate and entertained.

The prince sat on the bench and played whatever was requested. One piece, after countless repetitions over the course of months, became so familiar to him that he wrote words for the song born from his loneliness. Finally he couldn't bear his sorrow and, in playing one evening, he began to sing softly, hoping it would ease the pain in his soul.

"Oh my hero, so far away now.  
Will I ever see your smile?  
Love goes away, like night into day.  
It`s just a fading dream.

You are the dark, I am the stars.  
Our love is brighter than the sun.  
For eternity, for me there can be,  
Only you, my chosen one...

Must I forget you? Our solemn promise?  
Will autumn take the place of spring?  
What shall I do? I`m lost without you.  
Speak to me once more!"

The last words had barely escaped his lips when there was a clamor from the great hall outside the throne room. The large doors were thrown aside and four men rushed in clad in black with swords already stained with blood seeking to spill more. In their wake their apparent leader entered, still clad in black with his crimson cloak flowing behind him, violet eyes fixed on the man who had overthrown the kingdom and imprisoned the young prince. The false king draw his blade but the thief was faster, slaying the man with little effort before turning to the prince, a gentle smile playing awkwardly on his features as he approached.

"Come my light. Join me and let me show you what lies outside these cold walls."

With a smile he hadn't displayed since he had first met the man, the prince nodded, taking the thief by the hand.

* * *

AN: And there you go. A short, lame story that I wrote on my laptop while I was de-virus-ifying my computer. Hope you liked it! *goes to work on HnYnG some more*

PS: I changed one line of the original English lyrics. It's supposed to say "I am the dark, you are the stars" but Tozokuo/Bakura is the dark and...yeah... :3


	25. Bakura's Guilty Pleasure

AN: A short little thing with a bit of tendershipping in it for good measure. I've been a little mopey today so I wanted to write something to cheer me up. So if you're having a bad day, maybe this will cheer you up too? :3

And I'm not advertising for the website mentioned. I just thought it would be hilarious iwth Bakura went to it. Regularly. Mwahaha

* * *

"Bakura! I'm going to school!" Ryou called up the stairs, stepping into his shoes and grabbing his back pack. "I'll come straight home!"

"Whatever!" the thief hollered back. Ryou sighed softly and hurried out the door.

On cautious feet, the former King of Thieves slipped to the window, parting the heavy curtains to watch Ryou move down the walk and take a right, heading on his way for school. The moment he was out of sight, the thief, lunged for his computer chair and slid gleefully into place before the monitor.

Even before he had gotten his own body, Bakura had quickly adapted to technology via Ryou, learning all the wonderfully evil things that one could use a computer for. He was fairly secure in his hacking abilities, learning new tricks every day. He was careful with what he did with the pilfered information so that Ryou didn't find out and so he wouldn't be caught.

But not everything he did while online was for profit. And certainly he did use the internet for what many others used it for: searching for cheap or free images and videos for his pleasure.

But today was Wednesday. And Wednesday was update day.

Some of the sites he visited updated daily, some one to three times a week, and some so sporadically he only checked them once a month. He had the websites memorized so he could delete them from search history in case Ryou got some mad notion in his head to poke around the thief's computer. His reputation would be severely wounded if his hikari found out that Bakura indulged himself in such things as "webcomics" or worse, "caturday" pictures.

"I can haz cheesebuger dot com," the thief smirked, eyes flickering to the green bar in the bottom corner of his browser before turning to the images on the website. He was soon snickering and "aww"-ing at the images of cats, completely lost to the cuteness. Sure he didn't get all of the references, but that didn't stop them from making him smile. And not one of his "I'm going to send you to the shadows now" smiles or an evil smirk. A happy, pleasant smile that no one, not even Ryou, had seen.

His face melted into tender expression as he came across an image of a panda riding on a dirty, yellow, plastic rocking horse, an "awww" escaping his lips when he heard the sound of a bag hitting the floor. His expression suddenly turned to the "deer in headlights" expression of a teen caught looking at pornography as he turned to see Ryou staring at him, mouth hanging open. Slowly his hands came up to cover his mouth and he seemed unsure what to do.

Bakura snapped out of his shock and his fingers quickly found the alt and F4 keys, the browser closing and showing his desktop: a picture of Alucard from Hellscream with lots of blood involved.

"I...clicked on the wrong link and..."

"Bakura!" Ryou was stumbling through the thief's clutter to reach him, hands move to reveal a bright smile as he wrapped his arms around his Yami's neck with a soft squeal. "My Bakura likes lolcats!"

"N-no!" Bakura stammered, his face turning red. "It was a mistake! Why aren't you in school!"

Ryou gasped. "You're right! I have to tell Yugi and the others!" He laughed, running for the door.

"Hell no! Ryou! Come back!" The thief raced after the teen, managing to get to him just as he was opening the front door door. He slammed his hand against it, shutting Ryou's escape and pinning him to the door. "You wouldn't dare," he snarled threateningly.

Ryou blinked, stunned by the anger in his yami's eyes and let his bag fall to the floor. "I...I was kidding, Bakura! E-even if I told them something like that they wouldn't believe it! I swear! I won't tell a soul! Please..."

Bakura sighed, moving his arms to encircle the teen's waist. "I'm not going to kill you, Ryou. Just don't tell anyone else this little...secret, alright?" Ryou nodded and Bakura gave him a small kiss. "Go to school. But so help me, if you breathe a word of this to any-" he was silenced as the teen kissed him, arms winding around his neck.

"I won't. I promise."

"Good," the thief breathed, starting to trail kissing down Ryou's neck.

"Um...B-bakura? I...um...school?" Ryou tried to push the thief off of him. With an aggravated sigh, Bakura released him and turned to go back upstairs. As he left the house, the teen was fairly certain his yami wasn't going back to his lolcats just yet.

* * *

AN: OMG short and cute and now it's out of my head.

I should write something that's not tendershipping...

....Nah. *goes back to Hikari no Yami no Game* Maybe when this is done :3


	26. Happy Halloween!

AN: A short Halloween fic! Also, Happy Birthday Seto *tosses confetti*. I didn't forget, I just didn't know what to write.

Speaking of writing, I'm still working on the next chapter of _Hikari to Yami no Enishi (Chapter 7)_. I suffered a touch of writers block last night so I wrote the first chapter of _Best Years of Our Lives_ (didn't know what else to call it XD) which follows Marik, Rajan, and Petri (see chapter 22 of _Hooray for One Shots_) as kids and the mischief Marik gets them into. Constantly.

I think it's cute anyway.

So yeah, I'm working on Halloween. Joy. But that doesn't mean I can't toss this up real fast. Wrote it in about an hour. Enjoy! *puts out a bowl of candy*

* * *

A knock at the door roused a certain white-haired yami from his nap on the couch and he grudgingly got to his feet. He rubbed his eyes, vaguely wondering what time it was when he spotted a large bowl of candy beside the door. He shrugged, opening the door and expecting Marik and Malik, vaguely remembering that Ryou had invited them over. What he saw made him snap the door shut and filled his ancient heart for icy terror.

"No....f***ing...way..."

"Bakura?" Ryou called, hurrying down the stairs. "Was that the Ishtars?" The teen came into view and Bakura did a double-take. His normally pure white hair was now a flowing mass of ebony and his already pale face was covered with white and black make up. His usual, modest clothes were replaced with more leather than the Pharaoh had taken to wearing, all black as well. Seeing the shock on his yami's face, Ryou laughed.

"I told you, 'Kura, today is Halloween. Get upstairs and get into your costume." The teen approached the door, hearing the doorbell chime coupled with knocking.

"You will not open this door," the thief growled, pushing himself firmly against it. "What's out there is more terrifying than anything I've ever seen. And you know damn well that's impossible."

"'Kura," Ryou sighed, gently trying to pry Bakura's fingers from the door frame. "What is out there that could possibly scare _y__ou_ of all people. Let me see."

"Never!"

"Just a minute!" Ryou called to whoever was on the other side of the door. He moved to a nearby window and opened it before Bakura could react, leaning out and calling the guests over.

"Trick or treat!" thee small children called, each wearing a familiar tri-colored, star shaped hair style and a child-sized version of the Domino High School uniform, the jacket hanging off their shoulders like a cape. Around their necks on plastic chains hung replicas of the Millennium Puzzle and toy duel disks clung to each of their left fore arms. They held up their sacks, decorated with different duel monsters, and grinned up at Ryou.

"Well well, what have we here?" the teen asked, reaching for the candy bowl he had set out earlier. "One, two, three Duel Monsters Champions!" he chuckled, dropping a handful of candy into each of their bags.

"Thank you!" they chimed.

"You're very welcome, little "Yugi"," Ryou smiled. "Be good now and have fun!"

"We will!" one of them said, turning to run off in search of more candy.

"Um...mister? Who are you supposed to be?" another asked.

"I'm not really sure what his name is," Ryou admitted. "My friends and I are going to a party later as member of an American band called KISS. Oh, there they are!" he pointed to Marik and Malik as the strode up the walk. The two kids turned around, catching the blond Yami's (well, just guessing it was the Yami under the black wig and heavy makeup he wore) eye and he turned and gave him one of his more crazy faces and let his long tongue hang out of his mouth, raising a hand in a classic rock symbol (no, not the finger...).

The two kids shrieked and ran off, Ryou and Malik laughing.

"I told you you didn't need the wig with all that hair, Ryou! Where's your idiot other half?" the blond hikari called over to him.

"Guarding the door from the "baby Pharaohs" I think," Ryou snickered.

"Shut up," the thief sulked, throwing open the door and giving Marik a high five for scaring away the Atem/Yugi dopplegangers.

"Why aren't you dressed yet?" Marik asked, putting his hands on his hips. "If I have to look this f***ing ridiculous tonight, so do you."

"Fine fine. I'll get dressed up," Bakura grumbled, heading upstairs to change.

"Trick or treat!" another group chimed behind the two Ishtars, who quickly moved out of Ryou's way. This time it was a Atem/Yugi, a Seto Kaiba wearing a miniature Battle City outfit, a Mai Valentine wearing a slightly more modest version of Mai's clothes, and a Jounouchi, a pair of brown furred ears poking out of his blond wig and a tail hanging from the back of his pants.

'Poor Jounouchi...that nick name Kaiba gave him has gotten around, hasn't it...' "Here you are, my little duelists!"

"What time's Kaiba's party start anyway?" Marik asked, scratching at his wig irritably until Malik smacked his hand.

"Seven, but we wanted to be early, which won't happen now since Bakura's not dressed-"

"I'm ready," Bakura announced, Cutting Malik off as he trotted down the stairs in his full costume, looking every bit as put together as his friends.

"...How....did you get ready so fast?" the Egyptian hikari asked.

"Thief King!" Bakura and Ryou replied, though the former said the statement with pride and puffed out his chest while the latter rolled his eyes and slumped slightly.

"Come on, let's get going," Ryou sighed, grabbing a stool and steeping up the candy bowl outside the door with a little note. "I wonder what Atem and Yugi are going as..."

* * *

Atem sighed, inspecting himself in front of the mirror, a devious smirk crossing his features. "Kaiba is going to kill us, Aibou."

"Hey, it's not our fault the costume shop of out of everything else. We were lucky we got that."

"I still believe you would have looked good in that other costume I pointed out..."

"For the last time, Atem, I will _never_ wear a French maid costume. Not even for you," the teen huffed, stepping out of the bathroom and straightening his wig. "Besides, it wasn't hard to throw my costume together. Now we match, though for Kaiba's sanity and our sake, we probably shouldn't kiss while we're at his party."

Atem chuckled, looking over Yugi's outfit: A two-tone blue striped shirt with a yellow vest wore open and blue jeans. He had taken a plastic card protector and punched a hole in it so he could wear a Duel Monsters card around his neck as well. Clearing his throat slightly, the teen did his best impersonation of Seto's little brother. "Are you ready to go, Big Brother?"

Atem snickered, wearing a card around his neck in similar fashion as Yugi, a short brown wig tugged down over his spiky hair. He struck his best "I'm the GD Kaiba Man" pose, white trench coat billowing behind him slightly. "Let's go, Mokuba. I have to beat Yugi in a duel."

"But big brother, Yugi's so much better than you!," Yugi snickered.

"Shut up, "Mokuba"." They both laughed as they left, knowing full and well Seto would _never_ tell Mokuba to shut up like that.

"You know...I think Kaiba could beat you in a duel," Yugi said thoughtfully.

"He is a skilled duelist, Aibou," Atem nodded. "It's all a luck of the draw really. We both have our strategies and each of our matches has been down to the wire."

"Well yeah, but I meant if he dressed as you and you were dressed like him then-"

* * *

AN: Tadah, a short little story. I'll let you picture what everyone else was wearing since I could go on but I have to go to work soon.

Miniature Pharaohs. The only thing in the world that can scare Bakura. HAHAHA.

Basically, the only KISS person I know is Gene Simmons (the freaky-long tongue guy). Guess who's dressed like him! XD

Happy Halloween. May your candy bags over fill with yummy goodness and no one drink your blood tonight.

Unless you're into that thing. And if so...*runs away*


	27. Tribute

AN: This is a story about the greatest duel in the world.

Not really though. Because the duel that's about to happen in _Hikari to Yami no Enishi_ isn't anything like the song. Michael and I were talking about the duel and I jokingly said "Play the best duel in the world or I'll eat your soul" and…well the rest is his fault…I blmae him entirely…unless you like it. Then it was alllll me. :3

So, hope you enjoy it. Typed this up at a friends house while doing our laundry. Expect another one shot shortly as we are bored… :3

The original song is called **_Tribute_**** by **_Tenacious D _

Enjoy! And look for the other chapter that follows this one: "Kiss The Girl". I'm posting them at the same time ;)

* * *

This is a song about the greatest and best duel in the world. . . a tribute, if you will.

Long time ago me and my yami Atem here,...  
we was hangin' out in another world.  
All of a sudden,  
there buzzed a buzzy demon...  
at the top...  
of the stairs.

And he said:  
"Play the best duel in the world,  
or I'll eat Yugi's soul."

Well me and Atem,... we looked at each other,  
and we each said...  
"It's time to duel."

And we played the first cards that came to our hands,  
Just so happened to be,  
The Best Cards in the World,  
it was The Best Duel in the World.

Look into my puzzle and it's easy to see  
One and one make two,  
two and one make three,  
It was destiny.

Once every three-thousand years or so,  
When Raa doth shine and Obelisk doth glow  
and Osiris doth flow oooh

Needless to say,  
Ghede was stunned.  
Whip-crack went his bug army,  
And the bugs were done.  
He asked us:  
"Be you loas(1)?"  
And we said,  
"Nay.  
We are but duelist.  
Draw!!  
Ahhh, ahhh, ahhh-ah-ah-ah-ah-ahn,  
Ohhh, whoah, ah-whoah-oh!

This is not The Greatest Duel in the World, No  
This is just a tribute.  
Can't remember the cards in The Greatest Duel in the World, No.  
No!  
This is a tribute, oh,  
To The Greatest Duel in the World,  
All right!  
It was The Greatest Duel in the World,  
All right!  
And it was the best mother f***in' duel,  
The Greatest Duel in the world!

* * *

And we ended it there. XD

(1)A Loa is a god in Voodoo. Look them up, they are neat. And creepy. A lot of them like the blood of chickens...


	28. Kiss The Girl

AN: There were two chapters posted. If you're reading this and you didn't also read "Tribute" (which is the chapter before this) then you might want to. They two aren't connected, but it's still funny.

This is an AU one-shot. All our favorite characters are in high school at a dance. Ooo the drama! It's like...a tiny spoiler for _Hikari to Yami no Game_ and the here-unto-unnamed sequel.

Rajan and Petri are in here too. And Rajan has feelings for a certain girl (OMG he's not gay!? What's wrong with me!? j/k ;) ) and his friends want to help him try to get the girl.

Can you guess who the girl is before the end? (There's really only one hint as to who it is. Maybe two. Good luck!)

The song is Ashley Tisdale's version of _Kiss The Girl_ from _The Little Mermaid_. Song lyrics are in _italics_ if you can't tell :3 Oh and if anyone can animate stuff, Michael and I would love to see this animated. Maybe a comic version would be cute.

Enjoy!

* * *

"Ok, we all know the plan," Malik whispered, leaning into the huddle that consisted of Yugi, Atem, Ryou, Bakura, Marik, Petri, Jounouchi, Seto, Anzu, and himself. "Bakura?"

"Yeah, I gave Otogi the signal so it'll start after this song," Bakura replied smoothly.

"Excellent. Ok then, places everyone. Begin operation "Get Rajan to kiss the girl.""

"I still think we should have called this Operation: Blackhawk Down," Marik pouted.

"Shut up," Seto muttered, eager to get away from the group. He had never enjoyed being in large groups. "At least this isn't costing me anything," he muttered jokingly.

"Actually we needed to bribe Otogi to play this song so I gave him a fiver out of your wallet," Bakura admitted, flashing a grin at the young CEO.

"What!?"

"Thief King," he laughed, breaking away from the group.

"Deal with him later, Seto," Malik snapped. "Everyone in your places, it's going to start!"

Oblivious to the others' plans, Rajan stood by the refreshment table, sipping at a plastic cup half-filled with punch. He let his gaze wander around the gym, the walls decorated with various shades of blue, bunches of balloons hanging from the ceiling and tied to chairs. The theme of the dance was the far-from-original "Under the Sea", but at least the atmosphere was relaxed.

Despite his best efforts to distract himself, his found his gaze falling on a particular senior, mentally cursing his inability to simply cross the room and talk to her. Her long hair was pulled back into a low ponytail and she wore a simple blue dressed that so perfectly matched her eyes, knee length and slit half-way up her thigh. He sighed softly, shaking his head.

'Come on Rajan, she's a senior. She'd never talk to a junior…' he thought, draining his cup and turning to refill it. The next song started and the lights took on a bluish tint, small fixtures in the ceiling spinning small spotlights around the gym and setting a more romantic feel. 'Great, another couples song. Rub it in,' he thought dryly, eying the couples that moved onto the dance floor. His gaze flickered to the senior again.

"_There you see her_," Marik suddenly sang behind him to his right. "_Sitting there_ _across the way_," The crimson-eyed teen suddenly realized his older brother was singing along to the song that was playing and shot him a glare.

"Marik-"

"_She don't got a lot to say, But there's something about her_," Petri sang from his left, the blue-eyed brother offering him a grin.

"Et tu, Petri?"

Both Marik and Petri clasped their hands over their chest, eyes closed as they sang the next line in unison. "_And you don't know why, But you're dying to try, You wanna_ _kiss the girl_~"

Rajan sighed in frustration and stalked away from his brother to hide the blush that was creeping over his face. "Sh-shut up." He was stopped with a strong arm draped over his shoulders, it's owner pulling him close and pointing over to the girl.

"_Yes, you want her_," Bakura grinned, speaking close to his ear. "_Look at her, you_ _know you do_." Rajan managed to shrug out of his friend's grip and continued his attempt to escape. Ryou appeared before him, hands clasped behind his back and walking backwards in front of him, large brown eyes shining innocently.

"_It's possible she wants you too, There is one way to ask her._"

"Are you all in on this!?" Rajan demanded quietly, his blush darkening slightly. He was thrown off balance again as someone grabbed his arm and dragged him toward the dance floor.

"_It don't take a word, not a single word, Go on and kiss the girl,_" Yugi smiled up at him. Bakura's hands gripped his shoulders as Ryou came to grab Rajan's other arm and the trio dragged him into the dancing crowd. Marik and Petri followed to make certain their brother didn't escape and all five sang to him:

"_Shalalalala  
My oh my  
Looks like the boy's too shy  
Ain't gonna kiss the girl  
Shalalalala  
Ain't that sad  
It's such a shame, too bad"_

Ryou gave Rajan a small pout. "_You're gonna miss the girl._"

Bakura leaned in closer, almost purring into his friend's ear. "_Go on and kiss the_ _girl_," he said, giving Rajan a shove and dissolving into the crowd to go dance with Ryou. Flustered and fighting the return to a normal color, the teen hoped he could somehow slip out. He flinched when he spotted Atem and Jounouchi smirking at him and realized he was trapped.

"_Now's your moment_," Atem sang, straightening Rajan's shirt and fixing his hair a bit. "_Floating in a blue lagoon_."

Jounouchi put his hands on his hips and added: "_Boy, you better do it soon, No time will be better._" He stepped closer as Atem moved aside and pressed an index finger between Rajan's eyes. "_She don't say a word, And she won't say a word, Until you kiss the girl._" He pushed the other's head back sharply and stepped aside as Marik grabbed Rajan's shoulders and shoved him.

Malik, Atem, and Jounouchi sang along in the chorus:

"_Shalalalala  
My oh my  
Looks like the boy's too shy  
Ain't gonna kiss the girl  
Shalalalala  
Ain't that sad_  
_It's such a shame  
Too bad, you're gonna miss the girl_"

With a final shove from Malik, Rajan found himself grabbed by Anzu, the girl smiling up at him encouragingly.

"_Shalalalala, Don't be scared, You better be prepared, Go on and kiss the girl_" She sang, placing one of his hands on her waist and grasping the other to quickly show him a few simple dance steps in hopes he would catch on. "_Shalalalala, Don't stop now, Don't try to hide it how-_" The lesson was almost too brief for Rajan as Anzu suddenly spun him away. "_You wanna kiss the girl._"

Rajan caught himself in time to see Seto dancing with his crush, grasping her hand and giving her a similar twirl Anzu had given him, sending her in his direction. She stumbled a bit and he automatically reached out to catch her, bracing her as she got her footing.

_Go on and kiss the girl(Kiss the girl)  
(Oh, ohno...)_

"Thanks," she said, giving him a warm smile. Rajan was suddenly thankful for the dim lighting as he felt the blush returning to color his cheeks. She pulled away from his slightly, looking to see her dance partner was nowhere to be found.

_Lalalala, lalalala  
Go on and kiss the girl_

"Um...hey..." Rajan mustered all the courage he could to ask: "May I...have this dance? What's left of it?" he added. She nodded, smiling at him again and releasing a swarm of butteries in his stomach. He managed to remember how Anzu had positioned his hands seconds before and they started to sway to the music.

_Lalalala, lalalala  
Go on and- _

_"Kiss the girl_," Marik suddenly whispered in his ear, sending a shiver down his . Rajan prayed that the girl in question hadn't heard him and made a mental note to maim Marik later.

_Shalalalala  
My oh my  
Looks like the boy's too shy  
Ain't gonna kiss the girl_

As the song continued, the others kept trying to catch Rajan's eye and made gestures to indicate he should kiss the girl.__

Shalalalala  
Ain't that sad  
It's such a shame, too bad  
You're gonna miss the girl

Marik made an "OK" sign with one hand, poking the index finger through the sign to indicate more than just a simple kiss, earning him a smack in the back of the head. Malik sighed at his yami and grabbed his hand, dancing with him and Rajan returned his attention to the girl he was dancing with.

_Lalalala, lalalala  
Go on and kiss the girl  
Go on and kiss that girl  
Lalalala, lalalala  
Go on and kiss the girl_

"Um...Kisara...?"__

Go on and kiss the girl  
Kiss the girl(Kiss the girl)

"Yeah Rajan?" Kisara asked, tilting her head slightly. Rajan sucked in a breath.

'She knows my name...maybe...maybe it's not hopeless...should I? Should I dare?'

Without really meaning too, the crimson-eyed teen found himself closing the distance between them, placing a soft, quick, chaste kiss on her lips.

_Go on and... kiss the girl _

* * *

AN: Oh! The horrible author has stopped the story just as Rajan did what everyone demanded him to do!

Well, this allows you to fill in the blank. Would Kisara slap him and storm off or would she like it?

I'm actually a little torn myself, but with reason. This little one-shot spawned a full story. I blame Michael. He's a bad influence on me. *dances away*


	29. Definition Of I Love You

AN: Short one shot. Primarily Deathshipping. I blame RoseleafISHTAR's new story "Spontanious outbursts of song" (I just realized that the title is misspelled. It's you're reading this Rose, it's "Spontaneous", but no big deal. Still cool ;) ). Chapter 2 is the first story and it's Deathshipping.

Caution, this is sappy. Very sappy. And fluffy. Parts in _italic_ are flashbacks.

Go go random story!

* * *

Ryou sat alone in the park beside a small pond. He had closed off his mind link with Bakura after the yami had yelled at him and demanded he leave his lover.

_"He'll end up killing you, idiot!"_

'Why does everyone keep saying that?' the teen wondered blearily, wiping tears from his cheeks. 'I don't even get to see him that often because he lives in Egypt. And I'll bet Malik will tell him to stop talking to me now too.' A small hiccup escaped the teen and he hugged his knees to his chest, feeling like a small child suddenly. 'Marik always listens to Malik. It Malik tells him to...'

"It's not fair!" he sobbed quietly. "Why does Bakura get to see Malik, but Marik and I can't be happy? It's not fair..."

_"He doesn't even know what 'love' is. Why would you think he meant it? It's just a word to him. All he knows is how to destroy," _Yugi's words came to his mind.

"Why can't anyone believe me...Why does everyone want to screw this up? Can't I be happy, too?" Again he made an attempt to wipe his tears away. "No one believes me..."

'What if they're right? What if Marik hasn't changed?' his own doubts came to mind, swirling with the words of his friends trying to discourage him. He covered his ears with his hands, trying to block them all out. Red-rimmed eyes opened to stare at the water.

---

_"This place is pretty, Bunny!"_

_"It's my favorite place in the park," Ryou said with a smile. "No one seems to know about it even though there's a bench here. I guess because it's secluded. It's especially nice in autumn when the leaves are changing colors or in spring with the cherry blossoms are in bloom, like they are now."_

_The tan yami stood thoughtfully at the edge of the small pond. Finally he moved to sit on the bench beside Ryou and slung an arm around the teen's shoulders, hugging him close. "I like this place, Bunny."_

_"I'm glad," Ryou chuckled, settling against Marik. He bit his lip gently and felt the yami's thumb on his chin, trying to stop him._

_"You'll hurt yourself if you keep biting your lip like that...Ooo or are you trying to pierce it! You should pierce your lip! And put a littl-" Marik's words stopped when Ryou pressed a soft kiss to his lips._

_"I'm not getting my lip pierced," the teen chuckled. "I just...I wanted to say that...I love you..."_

_The blond made a face, thinking about this concept. "Ok." Ryou was a little disappointed, but hid it behind a warm smile and settled against Marik and enjoyed the moment together._

_The next day, the Ishtars had returned to Egypt. The following night, Ryou's instant messanger pinged with a message from Marik._

_Marik: "Love:__  
NOUN:  
1. A deep, tender, ineffable feeling of affection and solicitude toward a person, such as that arising from kinship, recognition of attractive qualities, or a sense of underlying oneness. _

_2. A feeling of intense desire and attraction toward a person with whom one is disposed to make a pair; the emotion of sex and romance._

_3. passion. _

_b. Sexual intercourse. _

_c. A love affair. _

_4. An intense emotional attachment, as for a pet or treasured object. _

_5. A person who is the object of deep or intense affection or attraction; beloved. Often used as a term of endearment. _

_6. An expression of one's affection: Send him my love. _

_7 a. A strong predilection or enthusiasm: a love of language. _

_b. The object of such an enthusiasm: The outdoors is her greatest love. _

_VERB:  
loved , lov·ing , loves  
VERB:  
tr. _

_1. To have a deep, tender, ineffable feeling of affection and solicitude toward (a person): We love our parents. I love my friends. _

_2. To have a feeling of intense desire and attraction toward (a person). _

_3. To have an intense emotional attachment to: loves his house. _

_4. a. To embrace or caress. _

_b. To have sexual intercourse with. _

_5. To like or desire enthusiastically: loves swimming. _

_6. Theology To have charity for. _

_7. To thrive on; need: The cactus loves hot, dry air."_

_Ryou blinked at the long message before chuckling softly and typing a reply._

_Bunny: "Yes, Marik. Those are the definitions of love."_

_Marik: "Oh. I love you too then. Except for "6. Theology To have charity for." That sounds weird."_

_Ryou laughed softly._

_Marik: "Hikari needs me. I'll be back later, Bunny. I love you."  
Marik has signed off._

_---  
_

'Does he really not know what love is? That was months ago. I was going to get to see him again tomorrow for the first time since then. Talking online and on the phone just isn't the same...but now...' He sighed, not fighting the tears that continued to slip down his face, thankful that he was alone. He sighed, looking up at the stars and wondering if he should just give up and go home. He closed his eyes and let out a soft whimper. 'Now...'

He jumped when he felt something warm and wet lick his already damp cheek and chocolate eyes opened to meet curious lavender.

"Why are you crying, Bunny?"

"Marik!?" Ryou stared at him in disbelief before throwing his arms around the blond's neck. "Wh-what are you doing here?"

"Tombrobber said you ran off and he couldn't find you." Marik nuzzled the teen's neck affectionately. "But I found you! I remembered this place!" he stated proudly before pulling away from the teen and pouting, warm, calloused fingers wiping away tears. "Now what made my bunny cry like this?"

Ryou shook his head, his hands covering Marik's. "I thought...I'd never see you again..."

"...That made you cry?" The blond growled. "That's it, I'm kicking tombrobber's ass."

Ryou shook his head again. "No...just...sit...please?"

Marik complied, hugging Ryou to his side and gently petting the teen's face. "Hikari tried to tell me to never see you again. We had a fight before we got on the plane." Ryou looked up at the blond. "I love Hikari too because he's family, but I love Bunny more. When Hikari realized this, he smiled and told me to make sure you were happy or he'd kill me." Marik scoffed. "Like he could."

Ryou sniffled, leaning against the yami. "I glad...I missed you Marik."

"I love you, Bunny. So please smile. I don't like seeing Bunny so sad."

Ryou smiled, looking up at Marik. "I can smile now because you're here. I love you."

As the pair cuddled on the bench, another couple watched from a safe distance.

"I swear if he hurts Ryou, I'll kill him," Bakura growled.

"I already called dibs," Malik grinned at the thief. "But...I think they'll be alright. Come on, I'm exhausted."

"Yeah yeah," the thief grumbled, following after the Egyptian. He allowed himself a final glance back at the pair, a pang of jealousy striking him but opting to keep it tucked away. 'I love you Ryou...if you're happy with him, then I'll have to learn to be happy for you...'

* * *

AN: And done. How's that for a twist! Bakura's with Malik but loves Ryou (he loves Malik too, don't worry :p). Ryou's with Marik and they love each other.

This story has been brought to you by the song "Love Will Find A Way' from Disney's The Lion King 2. And now to stop being distracted and actually finished my chapter of Hikari to Yami no Enishi. Cause it's a cool chapter. Marik's in it!

*runs away*


	30. Karaoke Surprise!

AN: Last time in the karaoke room:

_As the last chorus played, Yami Marik flipped Marik onto his shoulder and headed for the door._

_"N-no! Where are we going!? TASKETE!" he cried, looking to his friends._

_"Hey now, no need for the theatrics. Let's go get reacquainted. I think the room next door is unoccupied," Yami Marik laughed._

_"Oh my god HELP ME!"_

_The others stared, most wincing as the microphone cord snapped as it was pulled beyond it's breaking point, the speakers screeching for just a second._

_"Sh...should we-" Ryou asked._

_"He'll be fine," Bakura managed, his laughter near hysterical, feet kicking gleefully under the table._

_Yami shivered and sat back down. "You know...I think he will be just fine," he muttered, not really wanting to deal with Yami Marik. They heard a door slam, cutting off Marik's cries for help._

_Anzu laughed nervously, moving to close their door as well. "Um...so sound proof rooms, huh? Aren't they the best? Ha...ha..." She cleared her throat and looked around for a third microphone, seeing as they were down to one working one._

_'What next? Are Honda and Otogi going to start making out?' Anzu glanced at the pair warily. 'Oh please...no no, they can't all be gay...'_

Things have changed in my mind since I wrote that and I've introduced two OC characters: Rajan and Petri (see_ Marik's Back Story_ and _Hikari to Yami no Enishi_) so I'm mixing it up a bit here.

Plus I've been having a bad day and I just wanted to write something fun to get my mind off it. There are actually two songs in this chapter. One of them is _The Chosen Ones_ by Dream Evil. The other is a surprise. See the end of the chapter! ;)

* * *

A knock on the door drew everyone's attention and Anzu scurried to open it, wondering if perhaps Malik had escaped Marik. As soon as the door opened, Malik burst inside and hurried back to his seat, a laughing Marik framed in the doorway.

"Honestly, you people can't take a joke," the spiky blond laughed. "Anyway, I brought my brothers along. Hope that's alright."

"Y-your-" Atem started.

"Brothers?" Yugi finished a bit nervously.

"Shit, there are more of you?!" Bakura grumbled.

"We promise we're not insane!" A voice called from the hall.

"Right!" Another echoed. Soon all three stood in the room, the door closed once more.

"So, Marik said, motioning to the two who had entered. "The short one is Petri." The teen in question frowned but bowed politely. "And the other one is Rajan." Rajan rolled his eyes and elbowed Marik.

"You're terrible at introductions."

"That's ok. Hikari loves me~" he grinned, moving to sit beside Malik.

"So him coming in here and tying you up like that was-" Jounouchi began.

"All an act. Yep," Malik grinned, sticking his tongue out.

"Would it be alright with everyone is Petri and I were to have the next song?" Rajan asked. "We've never tried karaoke before."

"Hmm? That should be fine," Anzu smiled, offering a song list to the crimson-eyed teen. He simply smiled and shook his head.

"That won't be necessary. I brought my own music." He held a CD out to the girl who smiled and blushed slightly.

'He's cute. They bath are actually. I hope they're not gay too...(1)' "Alright. Let me just get it set up."

The two brothers took the stage, Petri grinning widely while Rajan was more composed.

"_We are the chosen ones, we sacrifice our blood. We kill for honor_" Rajan sang.

"Heh, finally something that's not girly and lovey," Bakura muttered.

"_We are the holy ones our armor stained with blood. We killed the dragon,_" Petri followed, trying to force the smirk from this lips.

Atem looked to Malik and Marik, seeing that they were both fighting to keep straight faces as well. 'Why do I get the feeling they're up to something...'

"_In glory we return, our destination's end. We slayed the _dragon!" Rajan continued.

"_No more living in fear it's time to raise our king. We made it happen we're the-_" The sound of a record scratching cut off Petri's line and a different tune started to play, far more upbeat and disturbingly familiar.

"Oh dear god no," Seto whined, covering his face with his palm.

"_We're no strangers to love,_" Petri sang out, still grinning.

"I thought you said you weren't as bad as Marik!" Honda cried, covering his ears with his hands.

"_You know the rules and so do I-_" Rajan continued, ignoring Honda's protests.

"_A full commitments what I'm thinking of, You wouldn't get this from any other guy,_" Petri winked, pointing out into the audience. Bakura was beside himself and it took all his effort not to fall out of his seat laughing. Ryou hid his smile between both hands, giggling madly.

"_I~~ just wanna tell you how I'm feeling,_" Rajan was now grinning as well, dropping to one knee and sweeping a hand out dramatically. "Gotta make you understand.~" Both brothers sang the chorus, dancing and swaying to the music:

"_Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down_

_Never gonna run around and desert you_

_Never gonna make you cry, never gonna say goodbye_

_Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you._"

The music trailed off, both Rajan and Petri pointing and grinning mischievously at the others and chiming "Gotcha!" in unison.

* * *

AN: A short story, but it made my day better. Who doesn't like getting Rick Rolled? :3

Anyway, this song plays at my job almost everyday (atleast it seems to). I have tried to explain to my fellow employees that we're getting Rick Rolled daily, but no one gets it.

The other day though, in the midsts of listening the the barrage to Christmas songs, _Never Gonna Give You Up_ started playing and I pictures Rajan singing it to himself. And actually liking the song. I don't know why.

So I thought it would be funny to write it. So you know, the song belongs to Rick Astley and not me. Just like the other song.

Now to find something for my headache so I can work on _Hikari to Yami no Enishi_ some more.

(1) As you've seen, all the other songs were sung by couples. Bakura/Ryou, Seto/Jounouchi, Marik/Malik. Not pairing this time. They're just singing for fun. :3


	31. SideQuest Trailer

AN: Hello all! I was bored and suffering from ADD so I thought I'd write something cute and funny about my new story, SideQuest.

Don't worry, I'm going to finish Hikari to Yami no Enishi and I'll try to get more one shots going. In the mean time, this is meant to be taken as a teaser trailer like you might find for a movie/video game.

Not all of the scenes mentioned will happen in the story, but hopefully it'll give you an idea of the craziness to come!

What's that? You haven't read SideQuest yet? Well go read it then :D

*runs away to finish writing something post-worthy*

* * *

_**What if...**_

_---_

_After three thousand years..._

---

Yami clutched his chest, the world round him fading to black. The only sounds he could hear were his own heart and the laugh of Zorc, the demon standing over him.

"You have failed, Pharaoh," he announced.

Yami sank to his knees. "Even...even if I am defeated now...."

---

_Three thousand years of plotting. Of searching. Of hating..._

---

"The light of hope...will be passed on to someone else...It won't disappear until you are defeated(1)," Yami vowed, glaring up at the demon. Zorc simply laughed.

"This game is at it's end, mortal. The world is mine." The demon reached a hand down to grab the Pharaoh. "And I will ensure that you do not interfere."

---

_I won._

---

"How did revenge feel?" Bast(2) asked Bakura. "Did you enjoy it? Was it just as you imagined it? Don't bother responding, I already know. Otherwise you wouldn't be here right now, after all."

---

_But after all that..._

_---_

Bast smiled. "Your fate has already been decided. You have to go back to the world of the living and fix what you've done."

The thief laughed. "Oh yes, that's an excellent idea. Send me back to undo what I spent three thousand years trying to do. What makes you think I'd do that?"

"Because you don't have a choice."

---

_I'm told I have to go back and "fix what I did"._

---

Bast poked him in the chest. "The problem, you see, is that you cannot be judged because you lack two necessary components. Tell me, what is your name?"

"It's Ba..." the thief began but faltered.

_---_

_I don't know my real name._

_---_

"...Who are you. Answer now," Rishid snapped.

"Bakura."

"Lies. You look nothing like Ryou Bakura."

---

_I have to regather all of the Millennium Items._

_---_

"We've been working on it actually," Malik sighed, pulling the Millennium Ring out from under his shirt. "We also have the Rod and the Necklace."

---

_The Millennium Puzzle is broken and scattered around the world._

_---_

"Down there?" Yugi asked, peering over the edge of the boat an into the dark ocean waters.

"That's what the Ring says," Bakura tsked. He shot Malik a look. "Don't look at me, I'm not going in there."

---

_I need to find the spirit of the Millennium Rod and his reincarnated brothers in order to have the three gods on my side._

_---_

"They say Domino City has a guardian," the teen began with a smile. "Some say it is a golden dragon that shines like the sun. Others say it is a fiery phoenix who's cry can be heard throughout the city."

"A dragon and a phoenix?" Rajan asked.

Bakura, Malik, and Rishid shared a look. "Raa."

---

"Can't we solve this without violence for a change?" Yugi asked, placing a hand on his forehead.

"Ok, let's put it to a vote. All those in favor of solving this with violence, raise your hand," Petri said, raising his own hand. "Well, violence it is then."

"What? But...you can't see who raised their hands!" Yugi argued.

"But I know Bakura raised his. And Rajan. And Marik raised both hands," Petri smiled.

"I count twice!" Marik chimed happily.

---

_I have to get Yugi and Malik to come with me. And if that's not enough, I have to find Ryou and rescue him._

_---_

"Well Ryou, he's come all this way. What will you say to him?"

Ryou approached Bakura silently, looking up at the thief for a moment before slapping him across the face as hard as he could.

---

_I really have to get Bast back for this..._

_---_

_**In 2010, see the future that may have been if Zorc had won.**_

_**And see what it will take to set things right.**_

_**---**_

"Can't you take that thing off?" Malik asked irritably. "That bell is a dead giveaway to our position!"

Bakura tugged on the collar around his neck. "Believe me, I've tried. And this annoying thing happens everytime I try."

"What's that?" Yugi questioned.

"It won't come off," the thief snarled.

---

_**Rated T for Teen**_

* * *

AN: Well? How was that? :p Anyway, back to writing and what not.

(1) What Yami said to Zorc in season 5 when it looked like he was going to lose/die. In the subbed version anyway. (it ws the bad sub but I tried to make it make sense :3)

(2) Bast: One of the numerous gods. Oh the numbers of gods back in those days. She sort of boils down to being the goddess of the domestic cat but she had a war-like aspect.


	32. Sick Ryou

AN: Yay a random idea! I thought I'd try to write something about Ryou being sick since I wrote Sick Yugi (I'm so good at naming things! ORz. Let's see how this turns out. Tendershipping!

Oh and go look at my deviant art account again. I drew a bronzeshipping-ish picture :x If you've been reading Hikari to Yami no Enishi, it's a scene from the end of chapter 19.

Hope you enjoy! *hands out cookies and hugs*

* * *

The alarm beep incessantly, drawing Ryou out of his sleep. He groaned, pushing himself up and swayed a bit resting a hand on his forehead. He moaned as he swung his legs over the side of the bed, holding his head in one hand and staring blearily at the red LED numbers.

"I over slept," he muttered, turning the alarm off and getting to his feet, wobbling unsteadily. He stumbled a few steps, panting and reaching of the wall to catch himself. "I can't be sick...I can't..."

He rested his head against the wall for a moment before pushing himself away and making his way down stairs, his head throbbing and blinking to try and clear his vision. It was at times like these that he wished he didn't live alone, disregarding the spirit of the Millennium Ring. He shuffled into the kitchen and set about filling the teapot and putting it on to boil.

"I should have some medicine," he muttered, moving toward the downstairs bathroom to search the medicine cabinet. He had only just passed into the living room when he felt himself lose balance, his eyes falling closed as his fever caused him to pass out.

Several moments passed in silence before the teapot began to whistle loudly. The teen's eyes fluttered open, staring blankly ahead.

"What the..." He pushed himself up onto his knees, pressing the back of his wrist against his forehead. He tsked, stumbling to his feet and staggering into the kitchen to silence the teapot. He leaned against the counter once he had done so, taking stock of all his symptoms.

"High fever, fatigue, body pain...Stupid host, you were going to try and go to school like this?" the spirit tsked again, tipping his head back. After a moment, he made his way to the wall phone, fingers hesitating before quickly dancing over the keypad. After a few rings, he heard someone pick up and quickly masked his voice to sound like Ryou.

"Yugi? Could you send your grandfather over? I'm terribly ill and need to see a doctor."

Yugi hesitated, seeming confused by the request. "Um, sure Ryou. We'll be right over!"

"Thank you," Bakura replied, hanging up and dragging himself upstairs to get dressed.

* * *

Ryou awoke several hours later, disoriented and staring at an unfamiliar ceiling. Large windows that normally looked up at the sky were shielded with an old bed sheet to dim the room. He moved to sit up and groaned softly.

"You're awake!"

The teen blinked curiously at the familiar voice and soon saw Yugi's smiling face hovering over him, a gently hand on his shoulder pushing him back down. "Yugi?"

"Yeah, just rest. The doctor said you'd need to stay in bed for a few days," the teen smiled.

"Doctor?" Ryou questioned, furrowing his brow.

"Yeah...you don't remember? We took you this morning after you called..." Yugi frowned, pressing his hand to the paler teen's forehead. "That fever must be pretty bad. It might be time for your medicine anyway. I'll go ask grandpa and get you some soup and tea. I'll be right be," he promised with a bright smile before rushing off.

Ryou frowned, trying to figure out what was going on. He tried to get up again when he was suddenly relieved of control and found himself in his soul room. He looked around, confused at the sudden change when the door opened, revealing the spirit of the Millennium Ring.

"What part of "you need to rest" don't you understand yadonushi?" Bakura half-growled. "Do what Yugi says until you're well again or I'll have to take control and put up with him. _**Again.**_"

"Wait...what happened? Why are we at Yugi's place?" Ryou asked.

Bakura let out an exasperated sigh. "You're sick. Too sick to look after yourself, seeing as you _passed out_ this morning. I took over and called the runt and asked him to take you to the hospital. I would have preferred being stuck in a hospital bed for the next week over being here, but Yugi's grandfather insisted that we come with them. Something about being more comfortable and easier for you to keep up with school work." He shrugged, leaning on the door frame and watching his host.

"That was nice of them...but I-

"Don't, I already tried all of the excuses you would have given," Bakura tsked. "I was even _nice_ so the Pharaoh wouldn't catch on." He paused before jerking his head toward the dark hallway behind him. "Yugi's coming back. Go play nice, I'm going back to my room."

Ryou sighed. He didn't want to be in control of his body when he was so sick, but he knew he didn't have an choice. He closed his eyes, opening them a moment later to find Yugi hovering over him worriedly.

After he had eaten and taken his medication, the pale teen thanked his friend, apologized for being a nuisance (which Yugi insisted that he wasn't), and let sleep claim him once more. Yugi left shortly after to sleep on the couch in the living room, leaving Ryou alone.

Once he deemed it was safe, Bakura appeared on the bed beside his host in spirit form, watching over him silently. 'I need him to be well. If he died from this, I wouldn't be able to complete my plans. That's why I'm worried,' he told himself, absently moving a hand to brush a stray bang out of the teen's face and sighing softly when he had no effect. After a moment, he scrowled and vanished back to his soul room.

Over the next two days, Ryou found himself cared for by Yugi and Sugoroku in a way he hadn't been since his mother and sister had died. During school hours, Yugi's grandfather would come up from the shop to check on him and bring him lunch and his medication. After school, Yugi helped him catch up on coursework and gossip and even played games with him (mostly Duel Monsters of course).

The times when he was alone and sleeping, the spirit of the Ring would appear on the bed beside him, reminding himself that his concern for his host was parasitic only.

On the third night, as Bakura watched over the teen, Ryou began to have a nightmare. It wasn't an infrequent occurrence, but normally the spirit was in his soul room when they happened and ignored them. This time, however, he saw the frightened look on his host's face. Heard him whimpering and watched as he tossed fitfully. He recalled his own nightmares. A village in flames. The cries of the dying as they were killed. The shadowed figures of the priests and soldiers chasing after him. No one had ever comforted him when those dreams plagued him.

After a moment of debate, he returned to the hallway separating his soul room from Ryou's and slipped into his host's room stealthily. The teen lay curled on the bed in his soul room, shivering and whimpering as the nightmare continued to disrupt his sleep. Bakura crawled into the bed and laid beside Ryou, pulling the other close. He was startled when the teen clung to him, nestling against his chest like a child seeking protection.

'I'm doing this because he needs to sleep easily in order to recover quickly,' Bakura told himself, trying to ignore how nice it felt to hold Ryou against him. He closed his eyes and whispered a song he vaguely remembered from long ago, the words spoken in an ancient language. Still, they seemed to calm the teen, who settled back into a peaceful slumber, snuggling against Bakura's chest.

'Only because he needs to get better so I can get my revenge,' Bakura thought, petting Ryou's hair.

On the fifth day, Ryou felt well enough to go home, again thanking the Mutous for helping him. He knew he would still be out sick for another few days, but he missed his own bed.

That night, Bakura found himself in Ryou's soul room, watching over the teen silently once again. He tried to think of a reason for his being there, but none came to mind. He let his fingers comb through Ryou's hair, his hand jerked back when he saw the other's chocolate brown eyes flutter open, blinking up at him curiously.

"Spirit?" the teen asked through a yawn. He propped himself up on an elbow, meeting the other's gaze curiously. "Why are you here?"

Again, Bakura's mind ran through a list of excuses and possible reasons. Looking into Ryou's eyes, one finally surfaced. He lifted a hand, cupping the teen's cheek and leaning forward until they were only a breath apart, pressing their foreheads together.

"Because I need you."

* * *

AN: Huh, that's not how that was supposed to go...

Aw well, it was cute. And you can imagine whatever ending you want to for that.

Bakura was a little OOC I think, but it was still cute....I think _ It's almost 2am and I wanted to finish something at least. Hooray for a one shot!

Wait a minute....

Well, if you didn't like this little story, I hope you at least liked the drawing. :x I'll try to get either Hikari to Yami no Enishi 20 or Sidequest 6 done tomorrow or Sunday.

I did another drawing, but it's not done yet. My first time trying to really draw chibis and it's Marik Rajan, and Petri. If I don't get a chapter done, maybe I'll finish that at least XD *looks at drawing* Ugh. There's just something weird about Marik's and Rajan's faces. But they are chibis so I guess that's normal...

Enough rambling. To the bed! *passes out*


	33. Death Note?

AN: Browsing Deviant Art after drinking a Yoo-hoo and two sodas and eating a couple of donuts caused this. I appologize for the um...I guess this would be a drabble? Or maybe crack? I dunno. It's random though! Enjoy! :D

* * *

Bakura growled to himself as he stalked back to Ryou's home, the teen in question currently sequestered in his soul room. He carried a bag of groceries in one arm, irritated that his host had neglected to stock up on enough of the his favorite foods. That fact had only added to his anger that the Pharaoh and his vessel had five of the Millennium Items in their possession as well as the three Egyptian god cards while he held only the Ring and the Eye.

The time was fast approaching when they would travel to Egypt and the Shadow RPG would begin, but the thought of fighting another shadow game against the Pharaoh had lost it's appeal. He wanted his revenge done with so he could have some peace of mind. He was even willing to go so far as to ignore Zorc's orders to proceed as planned and simply stab Yugi in the face with a knife, smash the puzzle, and then pawn the pieces individually on e-Bay or some other way, making certain to destroy at least one so that the Pharaoh's soul would be lost in limbo for eternity.

He had thought about this alternative plan for a while now and had been shopping around for a ceremonial dagger to do the deed with. He figured he may as well go all out. The only thing holding him back was his host's incessant pleading and irresistible puppy-dog eyes.

'No, if I'm going to kill the Pharaoh, I have to do it quickly. Otherwise Ryou will just talk me out of it. Again,' he thought.

A soft sound caught his attention as he passed an alley way and he paused mid-step, back peddling a few paces and peering toward the sound. A seemingly unimportant black notebook lay on the ground. Being the kleptomaniac that he was, Bakura snatched up the book and tucked it into his grocery bag, continuing on his way.

Once he had gotten home, he put everything away and inspected the notebook. The words on the cover glistened silver in the light and were written in English. As it happened, the thief actually paid attention during some of Ryou's classes and knew a good deal of the foreign language.

"Death Note? Heh, what's this?" he smirked, thinking it some sort of toy. He opened the book and found instructions, also written in English, inside. His eyes lit up as he read, an evil grin crossing his features as he quickly began hunting for a writing instrument. He laughed as he found a pen in one of the kitchen drawers, ignoring the frog faces that covered it's casing as he opened the book again to a blank page.

"Yes! With this, I can finally be rid of that stupid Pharaoh once and for all!" he crowed, putting pen to paper. A second passed. Then another. Bakura felt his eye twitch in irritation as he brought his hands to his hair. "Shit! I don't know his name! He doesn't' even know his name! Gah!" Another thought occurred to him and he grinned again. "But I know his host's name!"

_"Bakura!"_ Ryou tried to argue, but the thief ignored him.

"I just have to picture his face in my mind and write his name in the book! Then he'll die!" He quickly began writing the name Yugi Mutou in the book, only realizing after he finished that he wasn't picturing the teen's face, but the Pharaoh's when he had control of Yugi.

"Close enough, right?" he wondered, tapping the end of the pen against the page. Not satisfied, he snatched the book and ran from the house, hurrying to the Game Shop to check. Peeking into the shop, he spotted Yugi talking to Jounouchi and swore under his breath.

"It's fine, I'll just write his name again," Bakura muttered. As he finished, he realized that once again he had thought of the Pharaoh's face and growled. "Ryou!"

_"I'm not going to let you kill Yugi,"_ the teen pouted.

Bakura tsked, looking through the window and focusing on Yugi's face as he started to write once more. Halfway through, the Millennium Puzzle flashed as Yugi's appearance changed to that of the Pharaoh's, the thief blinking a few times.

"Son of a...I thought of the Pharaoh's face again," he snapped, throwing the book on the ground and glaring at the teen through the window a moment. "Stupid Pharaoh...Maybe I'll get lucky and he'll die anyway..."

Well past the forty second mark, Bakura smacked himself on the forehead. "I could just get him to write his own name in the book."

_"Bakura, please stop,"_ Ryou whimpered, appearing in spirit form beside the thief and giving him his soulful-puppy-eyed-look.

Bakura hesitated before shaking his head. "No, I won't be stopped! Not when I have a means of defeating him in my grasp!" He reached down to where he had thrown the book to find it was gone.

Three blocks away, the book dropped from the sky and was caught by another young man. "Whew, thanks Ryuk. I was worried it might have fallen into someone else's hands." The man tossed an apple into the air and it vanished without a trace.

* * *

AN: Random fic is random! :D

Expect a proper update tomorrow. I have chapter 20 of Hikari to Yami no Enishi half done :3


	34. It's Always the Appliance's Fault

AN: So while cooking dinner tonight, this happened to me (read story). For some reason, this idea came to me because of it and so I wrote it real fast while I was eating.

Also I drew those chibis I mentioned. It you want to see them, check my deviant art account (mysia-ri).

* * *

Rajan came home with a bag containing a new skillet and a package of raw chicken. It was common knowledge that the Ishtar family was vegetarian, but Rajan and Petri, who had moved in a week ago, were craving something more with their meals.

And so an agreement had been reached. So long as their meat was cooked separately, then all was well.

After washing the new pan, Rajan set it on the larger front burner and twisted the corresponding dial to turn it on, adding a good amount of olive oil to the pan. He retrieved a small container of onions he had chopped before hand and added them to the pan as well, turning away to begin preparing the chicken.

Glancing back a moment later, he frowned as he saw the onions had already blacked to an inedible state and switched the burner off, removing the pan from heat and sighing as he realized his mistake.

"Tsk, set it on high. Ah well, no real harm done," he muttered.

"What's that smell?" Malik asked, poking his head into the kitchen.

"Eh, just burned some onions," Rajan replied, taking the pan to the sink to discard the blacked mess. He flinched as the pan slipped, the edge pressing against the inside of his forearm for a second and sighed. "This isn't going well so far," he sighed, taking a paper towel to wipe up the excess oil before returning the pan to the stove. He turning the faucet to cold and held the thin red mark on his arm under the running water.

"AHA! You got burned!" Marik chimed, bounding into the kitchen behind his hikari.

"Yes Marik, " Rajan smirked. "But I only burned myself. I didn't set myself on fire."

The older sibling opened his mouth to reply but closed it again, pouting. He moved before the stove. "Well, you burned yourself so it's my turn!"

"But you don't eat meat either," Rajan pointed out, drying his arm off.

"I can cook anything! Now stand back and let big brother handle this!" Marik insisted. Rajan, stepping aside with Malik to watch the "master" at work.

Marik grabbed a knife and an onion, quickly chopping it in half before proceeding to dice it with impressive speed. He followed suit with a few cloves on garlic before adding oil to the pan and turning it to medium heat. He added the onion and garlic before turning to attend to the chicken, beginning to cut it into strips. He glanced back at the pan on the stove less than a minute later and froze.

"What!?"

Rajan and Malik, who had been fascinated with Marik's knife-work, looked to see that both the onions and garlic had turned black already. Marik washed his hands quickly before turning to moved the pan from the burner and switched off the stove. He gripped the counter on each side of the stove, leaning over it and narrowing his eyes.

"What happened?" Rajan sighed in frustration. "You turned away from it for what, thirty seconds. I know that can't be right."

"Let me guess," Malik began, resting his hands on his hips. ""Demon stove"?" he asked, quoting the nick name that his yami had given their stove back in Cairo.

"No...no, that's not what this is," Marik replied, his tone low and even. "This stove...I think it's a vegetarian." He nodded in satisfaction at his diagnosis of the appliance as Malik and Rajan just gaped at him a moment.

"What?" the yami's brother finally demanded.

"It's a vegetarian," Marik repeated, straightening and resting his fists on his hips. "Therefore it refuses to cook meat."

"But we never got the meat to the pan," Rajan pointed out, throwing his hands in the air.

"True, but it _knew_ what was coming," Marik nodded sagely. "So it sabotaged your plans."

Rajan shook his head. "Out of my way, I'm cooking that chicken whether the stove likes it or not!"

It was later discovered that the burner was merely malfunctioning. The stove, as it turned out, was not a vegetarian after all.

* * *

AN: Hooray for random one shots! And now back to writing HtYnE!


	35. Ladies and Gentlemen

AN: I OWN NOTHING HERE AT ALL! PLEASE READ!

Ok, it's not entirely true. I wrote this, but you need to know that the circus theme belongs to KitsuneKittis (that's her Deviant Art account. GO LOOK! :D). I wrote the the other day but I didn't want to post it here until I was certain I got it right.

The acts are vague because I don't know how all of them play out (especially not Malik's, so it's extra vague). Akefia (Thief King Bakura) is the ringleader of the Nightmare Circus (I don't think I mentioned his name). Ryou is a clown, Bakura is a knife thrower, Malik is an acrobat, and Marik is a Lion. Again, I strongly encourage you to go look at KitsuneKittis' work on Deviant Art. Also look for the group "Shattered-Mirror-Me" because it's awesome.

Anyway, I don't own the circus theme. Just wanted to drill that in :p

Next, I don't own the dialogue. It's all lyrics from "Ladies and Gentleman" by Saliva.

And I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh.

Finally: I set up a poll (I guess it's on my profile, right?). I've been thinking about Rajan and Petri since I've been using them a lot and I worry that I may be crossing the line and committing the deadly "Mary-Sue" sin (after looking up what "Mary-Sue/Gary-Stu" includes). I guess I just want some reassurance :p. That and I have plans for my babies and I want to make sure I'm not making them too...something. I'd appreciate the feedback so I can adjust them accordingly! (I know some of you love the buggers from reviews)

Alright, enjoy the happy story! Reviews appreciated! Please vote! I don't own anything but this particular and peculiar combination of words!

* * *

The line outside the grand circus tent slowly dwindled as the last of the patrons filed in, handing their tickets to the smiling clown stationed just outside the entrance. Chocolate eyes caught a glimpse of crimson and white, the clown glancing toward it to find the familiar figure of the ringleader standing just out of sight of the patrons. A soft nod answered the unasked question in the pale eyes that regarded him and a smirk crossed the tanned man's lips as he hurried toward his entrace. A gold pocket watch appeared in his hand, flipping open for just a second before snapping shut.

Right on time.

The crowd within the tent buzzed with anticipation as they awaited the show's starts. The ringleader strode across the darken floor to the center stage, pausing for just a moment to soak it all in. This was his kingdom and for tonight, those gathered under his tent were his people. They had come seeking to be entertained. To be shown the nightmares his crew would play out for them.

And he would give them all that and more.

"Ladies and gentlemen please," he called out, his voice immediately silencing over half of the audience. "Would you bring your attention to me?" A red light illuminated him, the remainder of the crowd falling silent as well.

"For a feast for your eyes to see! An explosion of catastrophe!" He gripped the rim of his trademark crimson hat and spread his arms to either side. "Like nothing you've ever seen before. Watch closely as I open this door." As he spoke, a curtain moved beside him, revealing the evening's first victim, bound to a red and white target. "Your jaws will be on the floor. After this you'll be begging for more," he promised, bringing his arms to him again, his hat returning to his head in a smooth motion.

The spotlight left him, lighting the target beside him, another turning on to illuminate the pale knife thrower.

"Welcome to the show," Bakura called, a knife appearing in his right hand. "Please come inside." Another knife in his left hand. With a practiced motion, both knifes were sent airborne as he quickly covered his eyes with a black bandanna. "Ladies and gentlemen!"

The blades were caught expertly, the knife-thrower turning toward the target in the same motion. The first blade sunk into the board beside the man attached's head.

"Do you want it?" he asked allowed, earning several cheers as the second narrowly missed the man's side. "Do you need it?" Two more knives appeared in each hand. "Let me hear it!" The daggers found the board, missing the helpless man narrowly. The ringleader reached behind the target and released the hidden locking mechanism, grasping the edge of the wood.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he called aloud, giving the target a spin. The cheering of the crowd drowned out the terrified cries of the man and four knives were now held in each of Bakura's hands.

"Do you want it? Do you need it? Let me hear it!" The knife thrower grinned, each knife sinking dangerously close to the man on the target but leaving him unscathed. As he finished his act, he turned to face the crowed, pulling his blindfold off and holding his hands up to accept the applause he had earned. "Ladies and gentlemen!"

* * *

"Ladies and gentlemen good evening!" The ringleader called out once again as Bakura's act finished, his voice rising over the wild cheering. "You've seen that seeing is believing!" The lights went out, a single spotlight returning to light the ringleader as the stage was cleared to make way for the next act. "Your ears and your eyes will be bleeding! Please check to see if you're still breathing!" He grinned, making a sweeping gesture with his hand out to his left as a length of sheer lavender fabric was unraveled to hang from the ceiling, it's end barely brushing the ground.

"Hold tight cause the show is not over. If you will please move in closer," he insisted, beckoning them with his other hand as he stepped back out of the spotlight. "You're about to be bowled over By the wonders you're about to behold here."

Another man was suddenly standing under the red light, the gold bands on his arms, legs, and head glinting ominously in that color. He held out his arms, lavender fabric hanging loosely under his arms attached to the rings around his wrist and upper arm.

"Welcome to the show," He called out over the applause. His left arm reached back to the fabric hanging from the ceiling, twisting so that it wrapped around the appendage. "Please come inside." He moved a bit closer to the fabric and began pulling himself up, letting it wrap around his body as he did. "Ladies and gentlemen!"

"Do you want it?" He asked, stretching himself horizontally over the floor and holding one hand out to the audience. "Do you need it?" He moved again so he was hanging upside, both hands stretched. "Let me hear it!" The audience cheered and he grinned, twisting his body so he was right side up again. "Ladies and gentlemen!"

On the floor below, the next victim of the evening was led uncertainly to the center of the ring by the clown, who departed quickly to be out of the way. Malik made his way back toward the floor, eying the man who had been left to his mercy. "Do you want it? Do you need it?" He called out and was answered by the audience enthusiastically. He kept an end of the fabric around his arm as his feet touched the floor, reaching out to the helpless man who had been brought out. "Let me hear it!"

* * *

Again the lights returned to a sole spotlight illuminating the ringleader, a whip now in the tanned man's hand. The stage was quickly transformed as he addressed the audience once more. "Welcome to the show. We're glad you came along."

The ring was lit to reveal the framework of the final act and the audience cheer. A lone man stood in the center of it all, seeming terrified by his surroundings. A bestial roar announced the entrace of the final performer, a tan man-lion entering the ring on all fours and crouching down, waiting impatiently for his cue, his tail flicking in anticipation.

"Please come inside. Ladies and gentlemen!" The ringleader called, his whip lashing against the bars of the cage that surrounded the ring. The lion roared again, his prey letting out a frighted cry and stumbling away from the man-lion, who held his position.

"Do you want it?" The ringleader asked aloud. "Do you need it?" He turned his gaze to his loyal pet, te whip lashing the bars again. "Let me hear it!"

Marik roared again, louder this time. He pawed the ground before him, claws raking the dirt.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" The ringleader addressed the crowd. "Do you want it? Do you need it? It me hear it!" He was answered by an almost frenzied cry, basking in the almost deafening applause. His whip cracked as it lashed the ground beside him in the direction of his lion. This time the man-beast roared and lunged toward his prey, who let out a panicked cry and became trying to evade Marik's attacks.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" The ringleader whipped the ground again, raising his free hand to the audience. "Do you want it?" The man in the ring let out a surprised, pained cry as the lion's claws tore at his leg as he fell to the ground. "Do you need it?" Marik pounced on the man, growling in delight at having captured his prey. "Let me hear it!" A clawed hand raised, hesitating a moment as he heard the whip crack. The crowd cheered loudly as he held the position for a moment. Another whip crack gave him the signal he wanted and the claws descended.

* * *

The tent slowly emptied, the patrons charged by the show they had seen. The clown stood outside the door to see them off, holding a sign before him that offered hugs for a small fee.

* * *

AN: hope you enjoyed it! :3 *passes out cookies*

A bit darker than I usually write, but then I did mention this is the Nightmare Circus (did I mention the idea is KitsuneKittis' on Deviant Art and that you should go see her stuff?)


	36. We Are One

AN: I was going through some reviews for Hikari no Yami no Game and found this:

Pinkrose1122: please oh please write in "hooray for one shots" what Bakura does so both of them can get out. details please like how both of them felt. the card was monster fusion

So I thought "You know, why not give it a shot."

I think it's a bit sappy and boring, but I tried. Most of this is capy-pasted from the chapter in question because

A: otherwise it would be too short and

B: it doesn't make too much sense out of context.

Hope it isn't too sap-tastic. Oh, and go vote on my poll if you haven't already. (or don't. I won't force you)

* * *

Bakura had rolled onto his back, a forearm draped over his eyes while Tozokuo paced the floor, unbothered by the soft, uneven surface the pillows made.

"There has to be something we can do," the tan thief muttered, violet eyes narrowed in frustration.

"Well...we have two things we can hope for," Bakura said, a hint of sarcastic optimism in his voice. "Zorc could have an inexplicable...change of heart-" he chuckled at the words as they reminded him of Ryou "-and suddenly decide to right all his wrongs."

"Oh oh! That one! I like that option!" Tozokuo cheered childishly, clapping his hands together.

"But wait! You haven't heard the other option!" Bakura moved his forearm and looked at his past self. "Our other hope is that the Pharaoh will defeat Zorc and we die with him."

"Only if it can be a painfully slow death," Tozokuo wagged his finger at the other. "...But I still like the first option. How do we make that one happen?"

Bakura hummed. "We would need dates. Lots of them."

Tozokuo sighed. "But we don't have any dates."

"You know...I think I'm going to stop right there," the pale thief sighed.

"Yeah, this line of thinking isn't getting us anywhere..." Tozokuo grumbled.

"That and now I'm hungry." Both men chuckled. Tozokuo moved to speak when the room shuddered. "That's a good sign, I suppose..."

"It means the others are still fighting, right?"

Bakura nodded, closing his eyes. A moment later, they flew open again. "Did you hear that?"

"Hmn?" Tozokuo tiled his head, listening. "What am I-"

"Shh." Bakura closed his eyes again. "I think I hear Ryou..."

"I hear something...That does sound like m- our Ryou!" Tozokuo ran to the door, pressing his ear to it's surface and then pushing away, startled. "More than that, I _feel _the presence of the Millennium Ring."

Bakura nodded after a moment, holding his hands over his chest and closing his eyes. A warm, golden light filled the room, fading to reveal the Millennium Ring resting against the pale thief's chest. Exhausted from the effort, Bakura panted, laying still.

"I think that's all I can do..." he whispered, eyes fluttering open to see Tozokuo crouched beside him.

"Go to him, other me. You're the one he's calling."

"I can't move, much less do I have the energy to escape. Even if I did, I don't have a body. You do. And you could-"

"He's calling you, not me," Tozokuo argued, grabbing Bakura's shoulders roughly. "You have to be the one who gets out of here."

"We're the same-"

"Person, yeah. But you're the one he wants. You. Bakura. Not Akefia. So let's see about getting you out of here." He paused seeing the thoughtful look on the other's face. "What?"

"We..._could_...technically..."

"Speak in full sentences or-" Tozokuo started to threaten but Bakura cut him off.

"I might have a way we could both leave, but I've never tried this trick before. Nor can I guarantee the outcome." He closed his eyes, pain crossing his features as he made his duel disk appear. "Look...See those things in my "dia diank"?" he nodded weakly to the device on his arm. "Pull out the whole stack and look through them for one that has a blue and red picture on it.(3)"

Tozokuo complied, flipping through the deck and occasionally showing a card to the other until he held the card Bakura had wanted.

"Now for the tricky part," the paler thief sighed, wincing at the effort it took him to move his hand. He grasped one end of the card, instructing Tozokuo to keep hold of the other as he began to focus on it.

'Fusion (aka Polymerization)...does this even make sense?' Bakura wondered, closing his eyes. The man kneeling beside him was him, wasn't he? Or he had been him three thousand years before. Russet eyes opened, finding curious violet peering down at him.

"Before I do this, I should tell you that I don't know what will happen. Technically, we are the same person, but we're not, are we?" he paused, looking at the card they held between them. "This card is called "Fusion". Using the Millennium Ring, I can make it's effect real."

"So we would become one being," Tozokuo guessed, looking at the card thoughtfully. "Or will we combine and one of use disappear..."

"I don't know. But if we don't try something, we'll both disappear," Bakura pointed out, his arm trembling the longer he held it still, his fingers threatening to lose their tenuous grip on the edge of the card. Tozokuo's other hand reached out, grasping the paler thief's wrist firmly.

"Do it," he said.

Bakura nodded, closing his eyes and focusing on the card. The Millennium Ring began to glow brightly, Tozokuo closing his eyes when it became too much.

There was none of the pain that Bakura had anticipated. At first he felt only a strange warmth followed by his strength returning, his soul no longer in danger of falling apart or "dying" as it were.

Neither was there a struggle for control nor a fear of no longer existing. Instead it was a blending of two minds, each filling in the gaps of memory that the other lacked. Bakura remembered moments of his past that had been buried over the millennia; Tozokuo learned what happened through Bakura's eyes three-thousand years ago as well as what resulted from being sealed within the Millennium Ring.

Finally, they opened their eyes, staring into the cold darkness that surrounded them for a moment before realization dawned on them.

"I'm inside Zorc." Violet eyes glanced around futility before a smirk crossed the thief's lips, his left hand coming before his face. The dia diank on his wrist activated, the plates shifting and clicking into place, their sound muted by the darkness. "Come, Diabound," he chuckled, summoning his Ka. "Let's see if we can find a way out of here."

The creature growled, one hand grasping the thief before charging forward.

'It's strange to feel complete. Whole. It's as if I was missing a piece of myself my whole life...and in a way, I suppose I was.' Diabound's other hand struck something solid, rearing back before shooting forward and bursting through the resistance. 'This body is mine. These memories are mine. I don't feel as though anything was lost in the fusion. We simply became what we were: Tozokuo Akefia. The _King_ of Thieves. The holder of the Millennium Ring. Well, one thing was lost,' he chuckled to himself as the hole Diabound made became larger and he was suddenly outside, high above the ground and soaring away from his prison.

'I'm not his puppet anymore. Zorc has no control over me now. Never again.' Diabound's grip shifted and the thief maneuvered so he sat on his Ka's shoulder, leaving the creature's hands free to attack.. He grinned as he felt the air tugging at his red robe, watching as Zorc began to heal the gaping hole Diabound had caused.

The thief tilted his head slightly as he heard Ryou through their mind link, curious, relieved, and concerned all at once.

:Akefia?:

The thief hesitated just a moment. ::He's here too, yadounushi,:: he replied, using the name he had oft used to refer to his host. No, he wouldn't call him that again. Ryou was more than a host to him now. He was his light. His hikari. Perhaps even his life. ::I'll tell you the whole story later.::

:Be careful, 'Kura,: Ryou told him, his smile and relief evident in his "voice".

::Aren't I always?:: the thief mused. He suddenly recalled the more recent events as well as some of his more reckless gambles since meeting Ryou and added: ::Don't you dare answer that!::

Zorc's crimson eyes glare hatefully at him. "Tozokuo Akefia," he addressed the thief, actually sounding somewhat enraged.

'Tozokuo Akefia?' the name rolled turned over in the thief's mind. 'I was Tozokuo Akefia. But I am also Bakura.' His eyes narrowed slightly, his grin widening marginally, making his decision in that instant.

"I'm thinking of going by Tozokuo Bakura now. Has a nice ring to it, don't you think Zorc?"

* * *

AN: Hope that wasn't too lame...Felt so mushy...

Anyway, back to SideQuest! Away! *flies off*


	37. Nightmare

AN: Ok so I found a fic called Stalker written by Cliscia here on FFN and, having found it via Deviant Art from the manga she's started drawing for it, I felt compared to read it.

And it killed my brain for _three whole days_. I couldn't think of my stories, just worrying what would happen to Malik next (it's Horror/Romance and rated "M" for a reason. You are warned.). And after I finished reading it today, it still plagued me.

So I wrote a little one shot *IT'S KINDA A SPOILER* about it to try and get it out of my system so I could focus on _**MY**_ story instead of replaying this scene in my head. the other option is to reformat my brain, but that's a last resort.

PS: I loved the fic but I hated it too. So...consuming...(meaning: I hated the fact that it occupied my mind more than my own stories, but it's well written and a nice mind-fuck if you're into that sort of thing) *facepalms*

Did I mention this sort of spoils something? Just a heads up. Enjoy!

PPS:-Nightly Halo-: "Hm...I wanna be fair it feels like the next chapter should be puppyshipping or a continuation of the yami/hikarishipping story. X3"

I dunno if I'm going to continue the yami/hikarishipping story. Maybe if I get inspired for it.

As for puppyshipping, I couldn't think of anything except Stalker and I needed to get this out of my head. Maybe now I'll be able to think of a puppyshipping story :D

* * *

Malik laid back on a bed that was unfamiliar. his body hurt and he felt pain everywhere but also hopelessness. He couldn't move, feeling sedated and shackled. And the pain. It was everywhere. He was feeling violated and somehow knew it had been sexual.

Hovering over him he saw Marik, but something was wrong. He was nude and Malik wondered through his haze if it had been Marik who-

'But Marik wouldn't...' he thought, squinting up at his yami. 'Marik wouldn't do that to me...he...' and then Marik was gone, tying something around one of his thighs tightly. So tight it hurt and Malik made a small noise of pain, feeling sluggish. The same was done to his other thigh, both bindings tight enough to cut off circulation. Slowly he felt the feeling leave his legs and opened his mouth to speak when he saw Marik hovering over him, a sledgehammer cradled in his hands as he looked down at Malik. The teen's eyes widened as he hefted the tool, giving an odd look to him.

"This will make you perfect, my Malik. This way you can never leave me again and we will be together forever."

"M-Marik..." Malik whimpered, trying to move away, but he was trapped. Lilac eyes widened further as the hammer was raised.

"I love you, Malik." The words were spoken almost as a death sentence, the sledgehammer flying down, impossibly fast to connect with one knee. Malik felt the pain, heard the resounding crack at his joint was shattered. He screamed in pain, trying to fight, to get away as he saw the hammer raise again through the haze of pain.

"And this way, you'll love me too." The hammer fell again, falling almost in slow motion toward his other knee--

* * *

Malik thrashed and screamed, tears flowing freely as he was suddenly able to move. He hit something and his eyes flew open to see Marik hovering over him worriedly, trying to restrain the flailing limbs.

"Hikari! Hikari!"

Malik closed his eyes, screaming again as he hit his yami in the face, scrambling out of the bed and falling to the floor, drawing his knees to his chest and only vaguely aware that he had done so.

Marik held his nose, momentarily stunned that he had be punched in the face. After tenuous examination, he frowned and held a finger under his nose to try and keep blood from dripping onto the bed as he moved to sit on the floor beside Malik.

"Hikari, you had a nightmare," he informed the quivering mass of Malik, gently reaching out to pet his back, rubbing slow, small circles in hopes of comforting him. "Shh. Shh. It's over, Hikari-mine. You're awake now."

The haze of sleep slowly evaporated and Malik groaned, still crying. He swore he could still feel the pain he had received in the dream and was afraid to move.

"It was...horrible..." he breathed finally, his heart still pounding. He looked up at Marik as the yami brushed his cheek, wiping at the tears that stained his face. This Marik was real. He wasn't terrifying or maniacal like the dream-Marik (and Marik could be pretty maniacal at times). Malik slowly uncurled from his fetal position and crawled into his yami's lap, kissing him on the chin apologetically. "I'm sorry."

"I know, Hikari-mine," Marik smiled, sniffing as he moved his finger and wrapped his arms around Malik. Another difference that should have been immediately evident: Hikari. Hikari-mine. The Marik in his nightmare had called him "my Malik".

Finally feeling safe, Malik sighed, nuzzling his lover. "Just a nightmare...you wouldn't break my knees..."

"What?" Marik blinked at his hikari as thought he's just grown a second head. He shook his head, standing up and cradling Malik to his chest as he moved him to the bed. He poked at the teen's memories through their mind link and frowned as he set him down. "I told you not to read that stalker-story." He smiled then, giving Malik a warm kiss. "Now I have to clean my nose. And when I come back, maybe I'll help you have good dreams about me." He smirked, leaving the blushing teen to await his return.

* * *

AN: Yes it was random, but now maybe I have it would of my system enough to focus on SideQuest *pout*


	38. SideQuest Cut Scene: Gamer

AN: This chapter contains gratuitous amounts of Petri and no yaoi. (I know. I'm in shock too.)

I dunno. I thought about making this a full chapter of SideQuest or adding it to the story some how. Maybe I still will (there will be more about Gamer's past regarding his injuries in a later chapter anyway).

So think of this as a random cut scene since I'm still thinking of this as a video game in my head. XD

* * *

A gentle melody drifted through the large dining room, skilled fingers dancing over the holes of the simple instrument the harper held. He had gotten quite adept at playing his sweet potato ocarina(1) in recent years and the medley he played was one he could do thoughtlessly now. It gave him time to think ahead to where he would be traveling.

Of course he would first stop at Harper Hall, the central hub for those brave enough to adopt the mantle of "harper". It was there that news and information was gathered and collected. Most of it was terrible news of those who had died or of cities, states, or even counties that had been forsaken and abandoned. Zorc's reach was limitless and the destruction caused by him mere presence in the world seemed to bleed the life from it.

Other news was more hopeful. News of births or of people thought dead being found.

Most important and guarded was anything learned about Zorc.

There were three types of people left in the world: Those were cowered, those who served, and those who resisted. Those who were afraid were justified in their fears as Zorc was a powerful being and commanded an army of creatures that roamed the Earth. Those who chose to serve the dark lord worked as spies and assassins in hopes of being rewarded for their services.

The teen belong to but one group of the third type. The harpers. They traveled as much as possible acting as information gatherers and lifting spirits. They were respected as they were openly defied Zorc with their music and stories, encouraging others to never surrender hope. They worked closely with another group that had come to be known as "Runners".

Runners were similar to harpers in that they helped to spread news, but they traveled more quickly, typically by horse. They would seek out harpers to exchange information, spreading anything new they learned to others and carrying it back to Harper Hall.

A third group was more focused on trying to devise a way to defeat Zorc, though to date they seemed to lay low. The younger harper hadn't run into them in the past year, though he blamed that mostly on his travels to Japan. He made a mental note to ask about them when he returned to America.

His thoughts wandered to the country he had come to call home. He had been born in Egypt and lived there until he was nearly six years old. After that his family had moved to the United States. It was there he had fallen in love with anime and video games and resolved to learn Japanese. He remembered being so excited his Freshman year of high school when he found he had been accepted in a foreign exchange program, even more so when he learned he would be going to Domino City, home of some of the top Duel Monsters duelists in the world.

When he had waved goodbye to his parents and boarded the plane, he couldn't have even imagined what would happen.

His plane had just landed with earthquakes rocked not only the city, but the world. Dark clouds appeared, swirling angrily over head and a terrible storm began to over take the city. As he ran with others from the airport, he watched in horror and confusion as the sun was eclipsed and darkness fell on the world. In the ensuing confusion he had been jostled and pushed around, managing to get completely lost in the city in his effort to get free and find a safe place to go.

A roar filled the air, drawing his attention to the sky as a bright light blanketed the city and chased away the darkness for a moment, the storm calming in it's presence. He had looked up to see a golden dragon that looked like the Winged Dragon of Raa. As quickly as it had appeared, he seemed to vanish, however, taking it's light with it but keeping the storms at bay and quieting the earthquakes. The image, however, was burned into his mind.

Afterward he had wandered about, trying to find someone who wasn't panicking too badly to help him. He was lost and alone, thousands of miles from his parents and had no clue where to find the family who was supposed to take him in. It was complete luck on his part that he stumbled into Sugoroku Mutou and found refuge at Kame Game Shop.

Things had happened so quickly after that. Meeting Yugi, Jounouchi, Honda, and Anzu. Helping Yugi overcome losing someone important to him and working as a scavenger. It had been Yugi's suggestion that he become a bard, which he wasn't opposed to. He enjoyed singing and wanted to try and find a way back home to check on his parents. Then the boat ride, much like the one he was taking now though he had been far more apprehensive that time.

And over confident. Even after taking the title of "harper" and being warned so many times to be careful. The scars on his chest and face ached dully at the memory and his instrument fell silent.

"Gamer? Are you alright harper?"

Petri shook his head, turning his face in the direction of the one who had spoken and offering a bright smile. "Sorry about that, my mind wandered away for a bit." He laughed lightly, tucking the ocarina into a small pouch on his belt and shifting his position, fingers ghosting over the bandages that covered the upper portion of his face to make certain they were in place. It wasn't a necessary action but it was reassuring. "I think it's about time for a story anyway. I'll tell you the one of a beautiful goddess named Althena and the young boy who dreamed of being a dragon master(2)."

* * *

(1) The ocarina he's playing? It's a replica of the Ocarina of Time from the Legend of Zelda game of the same name. I actually own one (though Gamer's is probably the 10 hole version while I just have the 5 hole XD)

(2)The story he's telling? Lunar Silver Star Story, which is an awesome game.

So are you starting to get why he's called "Gamer"? XD He's a video game nerd.

Well, was. Cause he's blind now. And video games don't exist anymore...at least not a way to play them.

So what do you thing? Should I put this in a chapter of leave it out? Or do I have to decide for myself? XD

I'll get back to writing now...*runs away*


	39. I Don't Hate You

AN: OMG a one shot! And it's tendershipping!

The idea (and some of the lines) are from a song called "Savior" by the group Rise Against. Nice song really. And it made me think of SideQuest (it's almost like it could be the opening theme :o). More specifically it made me think of tendershipping, especially the line: "I don't hate you, boy, I just want to save you while there's still something left to save".

I don't think it's the best story I've ever written, but it's a one shot so hooray! XD I'll try to get some work done on Hikari to Yami no Game tonight but tomorrow I work from 10am to 9:30pm. Why? Because I keep telling them I want hours. Also I get to sit on my butt for 2 hours doing a demo and then go on a one hour lunch. So really it's more like an 8.5 hour shift than an 11.5 hour shift. It makes it sound less painful. :p

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the story despite how dumb I think it is. If nothing else I've told you about a cool song that you should listen to. :D

* * *

Bakura sat on the back of the bus, slouched back in his seat as staring out the window at the endless sea of sand. The others sharing what he could only describe as a merry trip through hell were talking excitedly about pyramids, ancient cities, Pharaohs, and other things that they had come to learn about.

Well, learn what their tour guides prattled on about. It was all he could do to bite his tongue and let them continue spreading their memorized lies and half truths. He supposed it wasn't their fault after all. It was what they were paid to say and what most believed. They hadn't been there. They didn't even know about the Millennium Items or the Shadow Games.

Crimson-tinged brown eyes slipped closed and he let himself return to his thoughts and tuned everything else out. It had been two years since the Shadow Games had truly ended. The Pharaoh and his vessel had won. Zorc had been soundly beaten and was gone, presumably for good. The Millennium Items were gone. Peace and harmony etcetera and so forth.

In the after math, the Pharaoh asked to be allowed to remain alive and stay with his host. The gods allowed it but for some reason decided that if Atem were allowed to stay that he and Malik's other half had to as well. Something about balance. He hadn't been paying too much attention.

Ryou had insisted that Bakura live with him, which he found bizarre. Had he tortured and put his now former host through hell? Oh wait no, he was in hell now. Regardless, Ryou had taken him in and asked nothing in return. The former king of thieves didn't even need to find a job. He didn't care. After all, Ryou was good company and he could go out thieving at night for kicks.

A month ago and a letter from Ryou's wayward father shattered the life he was adjusting to. It had contained photos that opened old wounds in Bakura's soul. Pictures of a place that had once long ago been home. That night he dreamt of Kul Elna as he had remembered it. Everything was so vibrant and vivid that when he awoke he felt a deep ache in his chest and almost cried.

Maybe a few tears escaped. He'd never admit to it.

What troubled him the most, however, was that his memories of his mother were were vague. He had all but just forgotten the color of her eyes. He remembered that she had had scars but he couldn't remember how she had gotten them. But like a how brand pressed into flesh, one memory was painfully branded into him. Tears running down her face as she told him to run before the guards could capture him on that fateful night.

Days passed and the thief knew what he had to do. It was laughably easy for him to get the money he needed to begin his quest. He had to travel to Kul Elna. Had to walk the ruins of his hometown. It was the only way he would find peace. He wasn't surprised when Ryou tried to stop him. What surprised him was that Ryou hadn't been angry that he had stolen enough money to make the trip. It had been that the thief was going to leave without tell him. That he hadn't even asked for help or talked to Ryou about his problems.

They had fought. Nothing physical, they both knew Bakura would have won that fight. Ryou wasn't weak, Bakura was just stronger and more experienced. Words can hurt more than punches, however. Cut deeper than blades. It had ended when Bakura had grabbed his bag and left. He had turned off the cell phone Ryou had given him until he had reached Egypt and was surprised to find that only one message had been left.

_"Bakura...I don't hate you."_

It was an echo from the past. Back from the days when he would take control of Ryou's body.

_"I will do whatever it takes to get the items," Bakura smirked, leering at Ryou from the doorway of his soul room. "I don't care if you hate me. I'll-"_

_"I don't hate you, spirit," the teen shot back, determination burning in his chocolate eyes. "I just want to save you while there's still something left to save!"_

The thief opened his eyes and looked out the window again. Looking back he knew the meaning of those words now. Ryou had obviously realized that Zorc was manipulating Bakura and, for whatever reason, had decided that he had wanted to save him.

The bus finally came to a stop and he waited for the others to stagger off like so much cattle before exiting himself. They would be mounting horses and going on some sort of tour that didn't interest him. It didn't take him long to select a horse that seemed up for an adventure, get it saddled, and slip away from the tour. Unlike the tour guides and tourists, he knew where he was and where he needed to be.

The sun was just setting as he approached the outskirts of the dig site and he easily slipped passed the archaeologists and began to wander the ruins. He almost swore aloud when his cell phone started ringing, silencing the infernal device and hiding in the shadows until he knew it was safe. Another voice mail awaited him.

'A thousand miles away and he still finds me...' Bakura leaned his head against the remains of the wall that he hid against, his eyes wandering to the neighboring building. A quick glance and he crossed to it. It was no longer much more than a few stones the marked the outline of a small building, but to the thief it was home. If he squinted he could almost make out the shades of the past. His mother cooking while his father taught him to whittle. His uncle stopping in with his wife and telling him a story.

Closing his eyes he slowly sat down in the middle of it, meditating on the memories of the past. He found himself comparing them to the world as it was now. In the past, there was true silence. Even in the quiet moments of the world now there was noise, like a quiet static that constantly hummed and droned.

He flopped onto his back, staring up at the starry sky. 'Six billion humans in the world and I feel alone.'

It wasn't that he didn't associate with others. Ryou would invite _them_ over if not drag the thief out. Always talking happily and clinging to him. It didn't make any sense to him. That he was so clingy. More often than once Bakura had had to take his hand back when Ryou had stolen it, lacing their fingers together while they were walking.

'He always gets that sad look after that...and when we fight...'

_"Please enter your password."_

Bakura's thumb pressed the combination of numbers needed to satisfy the almost robotic female voice, quickly adding a one when she began to speak again. He didn't know why he was bothering to check his voice mail. He knew it was Ryou again. He knew what the message would be.

_"Bakura...I don't hate you."_

'Why does he always say that?' the thief sighed, thumb hovering over the "7". Instead he pressed "4", listening the the words again. Then a few more times. 'He doesn't hate me. So what? ...'

_"Bakura...I don't hate you."_

'He doesn't hate me.' He narrowed his eyes. There was a faint whisper at the end of the message. Almost like a sigh.

"What the f*** is he saying..." he grumbled, sitting up. Agitated, he shoved the phone into his pocket and started walking again. He didn't want to think about Ryou. It always made his stomach feel odd. His eyes, his smile, his voice, just the touch of his hand...

He turned his attention to a dark hole in the ground, shadowed steps leading into the earth. He could almost hear the cries from that that. The questions. The pleading. The screams. He started down the steps, kicking himself when his realized that he didn't have a flashlight. He dug out his cellphone again, flipping it open and using it as a light source. Just as he was tapping a button to keep the light from dimming, the phone rang and he inadvertently answered the call.

_"Bakura?"_

The thief almost snapped the phone closed but decided instead to ignore the voice and continue down the steps quietly.

_"Bakura? Are you there?"_

Bakura finally saw the floor of the room at the edge of his little bubble of light. Three more steps and he would be there again, but each step had become increasingly more difficult to take than the last. Something screamed at him to leave. To turn and run. He made it to the last step and stood still, his heart beating wildly, eyes staring at the floor. His memories plagued him, replaying the sights and sounds of that day. The only thing that anchored him was the small voice coming from the phone in his hand.

_"If you can hear me...I need you to know...I don't...I don't hate you Bakura." _There was a pause and Bakura thought Ryou may have hung up but he started speaking again, his voice a little shaky. _"I love you...but I know...I'm not the answer for the questions that you still have...But I need you Bakura. Please...please find what you're looking for and...come home...I love you."_

Bakura blinked, suddenly realizing that he'd retreated five steps away from the floor as Ryou had been talking.

_"Please Bakura..."_ Ryou sighed, sniffling a bit on his end. _"I-I know you hate me. That's fine. I can-"_

"I don't hate you." Bakura shocked himself as the words left his throat. He thought about them for a moment.

_"B-bakura?"_

"I don't hate you. No." Bakura turned away from the dark room and the memories it held. "I'll be home soon."

_"...Did you find what you were looking for?"_ Ryou asked.

Bakura looked around the ruined village once more as he reemerged on the surface, the cool desert night making him shiver a bit. After a long pause, he heard Ryou calling to him and shook his head slightly.

"It doesn't matter. I'll be home soon." He flipped the phone closed and stared at the device for a few minutes. It was something from the life he was living now. Wouldn't that be the life his parents wanted him to live even if he couldn't remember their faces clearly?

He took one last look around Kul Elna before finding the horse he had "borrowed" and leaving his home town for the last time. There was no longer a reason for him to be there and his heart was already elsewhere.

* * *

AN: It was a dumb story but at least I got it written! XD (That's just my opinion. What's yours? :p)


	40. Sake Lullaby

AN: A short story based on (if you didn't guess) a song called "Whiskey Lullaby". It's sad and involves death and Bronzeshipping. I'd actually considered making it a differeing shipping but I couldn't pick one I liked.

Other things to note:

It's AU

"Malik" it regular/hikari Marik

"Marik" is Yami Marik

I think that about covers it. Look up the song if you've never heard it. It's sad. And country. Sorry.

Anyway, I'm off to bed. Hope you like it. If you don't like it then I'm sorry for that too XD

* * *

The church was silent as the minister spoke, standing on a dais above the closed casket and reading scriptures. Sitting in the front row, Rajan had to fight the urge to look back, still shocked by how many had come for the funeral.

Though it really wasn't so shocking once he gave it some thought. After all, even though Marik could be violent and out of control at times, he still had had a great affect on those around him. People either loved or hated his wild-haired older sibling but in the end no one could say anything bad about him. Especially not now. Not at his own funeral.

Petri nudged his arm and he realized that he was being called to say his part. It had taken a long time for him to find the right words. How does one summarize the life of an individual into one speech? How could he tell them how much he had meant not only to himself but to their family and friends? It was a heavy burden.

"Marik was...Marik," Rajan laughed softly, fighting to keep his voice steady. "He wasn't even a full year older than I was. We're still not sure how that worked out, but we were very close. He was...brave. Strong. Caring. Yes, he had his moments. He suffered from several mental issues that affected his judgment...It made his do horrible things some times, but in the end, he tried to make things right. In his own way..."

Rajan paused, glancing to a particular face in the audience. He had no grudge against that individual but it still hurt to think of the part they had played. He wanted everyone to know the pain that person had caused but he also didn't feel it right to call him out. Closing his eyes he let out a soft sigh and continued.

"Marik had a lover. A _male_ lover." He ignored the murmur that he had expected. Not everyone had known his brother's sexuality, though their friends had known. "They fought at times, like any couple. But one day...One day Marik came home an absolute mess, a bottle of sake in his hand and eyes bloodshot. It turned out that his lover had put him out (like the burnin' end of a midnight cigarette). He broke Marik's heart. That was about...three years ago. And Marik spent every moment since just trying to forget." Rajan licked his lips, finding a spot near the back of the room to stare at.

"Petri and I watched him drink his pain away a little at a time...but he never could get drunk enough to get him off his mind...until...until the night..." Crimson eyes closed, fighting back the tears that threatened to overwhelm him.

"He put that bottle to his head and pulled the trigger  
And finally drank away his memory  
Life is short but this time it was bigger  
Than the strength he had to get up off his knees  
We found him with his face down in the pillow  
With a note that said, "I'll love him till I die"..."

Rajan covered his eyes with his hand, choking slightly. "Petri and I had told him...begged him to talk to us if he ever needed a shoulder to cry on, but he always said that he would be fine. That...that he...That we didn't have to worry about him...I-if we had been home that night..." ...

* * *

"Here. Rajan and I wanted you to have this..."

Malik looked up from the hole in the ground that was slowly being filled, eying the folded piece of paper being offered to him by Petri. He took it, looking up at the willow tree that shaded the new grave.

"W-we don't...blame you for this...You did what you had to..." the blue eyed blond whispered, his voice trembling as he fought the urge to cry.

"I know..." Malik replied softly, looking at the note in his hands. As Rajan had stated, it did say _"I'll love Malik until I die"_, the words shakily written but still distinctly Marik's own handwriting. He vaguely heard a few voices start to sing a hymn, but more clearly he could hear whispers from other attendants and some of the questions they had about Marik's death.

After the service had ended, he made his way home in a bit of a daze. He stopped outside of a small bar.

* * *

Three years passed and once again a large crowd had gathered at the same church for yet another funeral. This time, however, it was Isis who stood before a crowd and was forced to find the words to effectively sum up her brother's life. She and Rishid had decided to tell the truth of Marik's life as a Tombkeeper and shared stories of their life in Egypt.

She cleared her throat slightly before coming to the explanation of the last six years.

"Malik had dated Marik for a time. They actually had talked about getting a small place for themselves. They were very close and even when they fought they always forgave each other soon after.

That last fight however...I don't think anyone really knows what really happened that night. Malik came home hurt and angry and refused to tell us anything. Still, he seemed to cope. Occasionally he would think that he had seen Marik while he was out with friends but the two of them...never spoke again after that night."

Isis paused before pressing on. "After Marik's funeral three years ago...rumors flew about what had really happened between Marik and Malik. But no one knew...how much Malik blamed himself...these past few years. Malik tried to hide the sake on his breath and...over time...he seemed to drink his pain away a little at a time. Still he...he never could get drunk enough to get _him_ off his mind...Until the night..." she choked, jerked a bit as Rishid touched her shoulder, pulling her to him and taking over for her.

"He put that bottle to her head and pulled the trigger  
And finally drank away his memory  
Life is short but this time it was bigger  
Than the strength he had to get up off his knees  
We found him with his face down in the pillow  
Clinging to his picture for dear life."

Isis sobbed against Rishid's chest, lamenting the loss of her younger brother

* * *

Malik's casket was slowly lowered into the earth beside Marik's grave beneath the willow tree as a small choir sang the same song as they had three years ago.

"Such a shame," Rajan murmured. Isis jolted, looking up and noticing for the first time that Marik's brothers had come to the funeral as well. "Hello Isis. Rishid."

"What are you two doing here?" Rishid asked, a hand gripping his adopted sister's shoulder protectively.

"Malik was our friend," Petri pointed out. "Who would have thought..."

"At least now...they're together...right?" Isis asked, her voice barely a whisper.

Rajan glanced to his older brother's grave and then back to Malik's. "I...suppose so...damned fools...This could have been resolved if they had just..." he trailed off, unable to finished the thought and instead placed a hand on Isis's free shoulder. "And we must carry on without them."

Isis nodded, covering his hand with her own.

* * *

AN: Guh that was sad. And ended kinda poorly but I wanted to get something written. So I did! Hooray!


	41. 24601

AN: A random one shot. The idea comes from the song "Who am I?" from Les Miserable.

"He thinks that man is me, he knew him at a glance!

That stranger he has found...this man could be my chance!

Why should I save his hide? Why should I right this wrong?

When I have come so far and struggled for so long?

If I speak, I am condemned.

If I stay silent...I am damned!"

And so on. It's a pretty interesting song. I need to work at 8am so I should be off to bed.

Also I have been working on the next chapter of SideQuest more than HtYnE but I have been working on it, I swear. SideQuest is just all up in my brain :p But go check out LionNapped too if you haven't already. I'll probably update that one again this week too.

I swear I'll finish HtYnE soon. There's only about 5 chapters or so left to go.

In the mean time, hope you enjoy this one shot!

* * *

"No! P-please! I-I didn't do anything!"

Bakura cocked his head at the cry. He glanced across the street to see the source of the sound: a young man being arrested. He was pale and his white hair was long and spiky but looked soft. His clothing was simple: green undershirt with a cream colored sweater and blue jeans. Chocolate brown eyes were wild with fear as he attempted to resist arrest.

Bakura flipped up the hood of his dark gray sweatshirt to hide his appearance, which was so much like the teen's save his own hair had two sections spiked a bit differently and his eyes were darker. Still, the stranger could have passed for his twin.

Or in this case, himself.

"Stop resisting!" the officer commanded. "You have the right to remain silent-"

"But you've got the wrong person!" the teen protested, struggling to get away. "I didn't steal anything! Please let me go!"

"Bakura Akefia," a voice familiar to Bakura spoke. Sure enough the man who came before the frightened teen was none other than Atem Yami.

Atem was a devote officer of the law. He believed he was flawless and viewed the world as black and white. He was renown for "always getting his man".

He was arresting the wrong man.

"A-akefia? My name if Ryou! Ryou Bakura! I'm not-"

"When you go by an alias you generally change your entire name, Akefia," Yami smirked, grabbing the teen and forcing him to the ground. "You are under arrest for the robbery of the Jewel of the Nile as well as assaulting-"

"I didn't do anything! Why won't you listen to me! H-help!" Ryou cried out.

"-the curator, Isis Ishtar. You have the right to remain silent-"

'He thinks that kid is me...' Bakura grinned, shoving his hands into his pockets. 'He knew him at a glance. That kid...he could be my chance.' He stepped into the shadows of a nearby alley to watch the scene unfolding before him. 'Che, no need to do anything. Why should I correct Mr. Perfect over there? That kid'll take the fall for me and I'll get away scot-free and won't have to be looking over my shoulder constantly...for now at least.'

Still, as he watched Ryou being hoisted from the ground and forced to bend over the hood of the police car, he felt a pang of guilt. He rubbed his right forearm, gritting his teeth before turning away, trying to erase the image from his mind.

'Why am I even considering it? If I say anything I'll be arrested on the spot! No, this is perfect. I can leave and...' his thoughts trailed off as he came to a stop in the middle of the alley. 'And that kid can take the fall...'

His fist connected with the wall to his left and he clenched his teeth. 'Who am I? Could I just walk away and condemn that kid to going to jail in my place?' He squeezed his eyes shut in frustration, the image of the teen pleading for help plaguing him though he tried to forget it. 'Just because he looks like me...he'll go to jail...'

Bakura turned and threw his back at the wall, leaning against it and looking up at the sky. 'Even if he does, I'll have to leave town, change my name...it'll be such a pain...' he reasoned with himself. 'I'd never be "Bakura Akefia" again...'

Grunting, he started walking again, pulling the hood of his sweatshirt lower to hide his face. Ryou was being hustled toward the back of the cruiser, his head bowed and tears flowing freely down his face while Atem mocked him.

"Crocodile tears don't suit you. Where is that cocky smirk and biting tongue, Akefia?"

A gun shot earned a few panicked cries, sending onlookers back a few paces. It was followed immediately by the tire just behind Atem bursting, causing the proud officer to jump and reach for his own fire arm, seeking the source of the attack. The police man that had been trying to get Ryou into the back of the car let out a cry and crumpled to the ground before Atem could turn around and his eyes widened, gun leveled to the hooded figure who was now holding Ryou before him as a shield.

"Who are you?" Atem demanded.

"Don't move and we both get out of this alive," Bakura whispered into Ryou's ear. The frightened teen managed to nod slightly, pressing against him fearfully and trying to ignore the both the gun being pointed at him and the one the man behind him was now pointing at the spike-haired officer.

Atem's eye's widened further as he caught sight of Bakura's arm, the sleeve rolled up to reveal a mark tattooed into his forearm.

"Akefia!"

"That's right," Bakura grinned, tightening his arm around Ryou's waist. "**I** am Bakura Akefia. This guy's as innocent as you are. Probably more so. Funny how you didn't bother looking for that mark seeing as you put it there yourself. You're slipping Yami."

Atem growled, cocking his gun and glaring daggered at Bakura. "Who do you think you are!" he demanded. His answer was a bullet grazing his hand, the sudden pain causing him to drop his weapon and giving Bakura a chance to sling Ryou over his shoulder and take off running.

"Who am I?" Bakura laughed back in response. "Two-four-six-oh-one!" he called out the numbers forever marked into his flesh.

Once he was a safe distance away he set Ryou back on his feet and produced a small piece of wire. "Hold still."

Ryou obeyed, trying not to fidget too much as his handcuffs were unlocked. He brought his wrists before him, rubbing them gently and sniffling softly.

"Thank you..."

Bakura blinked and stared at the teen, uncertain how to reply for a moment. "Che, don't thank me. I just wanted to rub it into that prick's face." He started to walk away when the teen grabbed his hand.

"Well whatever reason you had...you didn't have to do that...so...thank you...B-Bakura..."

Bakura looked down at their joined hands and couldn't help but notice now nice it felt. Somehow he felt a strong connection with him. And the more time he spent with the teen, the harder it was for him to just walk away without a word as he planned to.

With a sigh, he pulled Ryou against him, earning a surprised gasp from him as he hugged him close for a moment before releasing him and starting to walk away again. "You're too innocent kid. Head home before you get arrested for being too cute."

Ryou squeaked a bit. "H-hey!" His protest died in his throat as the thief tossed something to him. He blinked a few times until he realized it was his own wallet.

"Be careful who you trust too," Bakura smirked, waving back at him, a twenty dollar bill trapped between two fingers. In the next instant he quickly vanished from sight down an alley.

'Don't worry, you'll get this back tonight,' he smiled to himself, plotting out the fastest route to the address that had been on the teen's driver's license.

* * *

AN: Random story is random! :D


	42. SideQuest? Save You From The Dark

AN: I DO NOT OWN THIS SONG! In fact, I forgot I had the song on my computer until I was looking for ideas for the title of the most recent chapter of SideQuest (posted today(5/28/2010) too). I was listening to it and was like "OMG IDEA"

So sadly I've only succeeded in writing something else SideQuest related today. Ah well. I think it's cute. Maybe it'll end up being cannon. I dunno. Still cute.

Oh god I need more sugar! *goes to get another soda* You guy enjoy this. If nothing else, you should look up the song on youtube. It's called "I Will Save you From The Dark" and it's by JC Van Luyn  
and Docjazz4. There's also a link to download it there. Which you should. It's awesome sauce with a side of win. :3

PS: I'm a little shocked. There's about 50 views on the new chapter mentioned above but only one review. And I only need 4 more to hit 100 :x Is it because I said something or is it a bad chapter? (I mean, I normally get one review every ten page views. I'm just curious XD)

* * *

"/And I will find you,  
And I will rescue you,  
And I will save you from the dark/"

Bakura looked up from his third glass of whatever alcohol he had been given, looking up to the stage where Petri had begun to play his next song of the evening. He sat on a stool and cradled a guitar that the innkeeper of their latest stop kept for harper visits. Something about the words caught his attention though he didn't know all of them.

_"I could translate for you,"_ Bast offered. The thief shrugged. He was tired. Tired from traveling. Tired of living. Tired of not feeling the sun in the dark world that knew was somewhat his fault though he tried to deny that he cared.

Bast knew this and smiled softly, her hands resting on his shoulders as she sang along with the teen in Japanese.

_"and I, can hear you cry  
and I know that you're afraid  
I can feel your hurt and pain  
for you, I will turn the page  
for you, I will turn the page"_

Bakura's eyes closed as he listened to the song, folding his arms on the table and slouching forward. His thoughts turned to his former host, Ryou. They still hadn't found him. He wondered if Ryou even wanted to see him again.

'Why do I care? No one's ever cared about me. Ryou's no different...right?' Violet eyes opened partly to stare blankly at the far edge of the table. 'He's probably terrified though...he always was scared of the dark...'

_"'Cause I will find you,  
And I will rescue you,  
And I will save you from the dark  
_

_Across the distance,  
Time knows' that only love can.  
fill this emptiness within my heart"_

'Love.' Bakura snorted, his eyes slipped closed again and nudging his glass away slightly. 'What a joke. Love. Nothing but a joke. A wasted effort that only...' he trailed off in his thinking, shaking his head slightly.

_"that's why I'll find you, I will rescue you,  
and I will save you from the dark  
save you from the dark"_

Love had been something he'd never had time for. He had a pharaoh to assassinate and a dark god to serve. He supposed he didn't have much of an opinion on love. Though Ryou had had a strong one. A very positive one at that.

"Are you ok kitty?" Malik asked.

"Lemme alone brat," the thief tsked, folding his arms on the table and burying his face in them.

"If you fall asleep, we're not carrying you to the room," the blond warned, plucking at of of Bakura's sleeves.

"Don't care."

_"With this love, raging through these hands  
I will find, the dark prince of your land  
With this love that burns for you  
I will make him understand _

_With this love that burns for you  
I will make him understand"_

'The dark prince is Zorc and I'll make him understand by bashing his skull in...why am I thinking like this?' he wondered, yawned noisily into his arms if only to annoy Malik. 'Oh yes, and I will rescue Ryou with the power of love and butterflies and ponies will rain from the sky...'

_"And I will find you,  
And I will rescue you,  
And I will save you from the dark  
_

_Across the distance,  
Time knows' that only love can.  
fill this emptiness within my heart"_

_That's why I'll find you,  
And I will rescue you,  
And I will save you from the dark  
_

_Save you from the dark"_

Petri smiled when he heard someone playing his ocarina in tune with the song. He knew it was either Yugi or Rajan though he couldn't see them. Either way, it added to the song he was singing and made the bridge feel less lonely.

Bakura noticed it as well, lifting his slightly before settling back down. The slow, gently music was putting him to sleep, though the three glasses of alcohol weren't helping. Still, the song was making him think of Ryou for whatever reason. He decided it wasn't so unpleasant.

'Where you you yadonushi? That bastard better have kept his promise. I swear if he's hurt you...'

_"And I will find you,  
And I will rescue you,  
And I will save you from the dark  
_

_Across the distance,  
Time knows' that only love can.  
fill this emptiness within my heart"_

'Strange, I can almost hear him now...like we're still connected...It feels like...a knot in my chest...' he furrowed his brow. 'Is this what you feel too, yadonushi? This...pain? Fear? Or am I imaging things?'

_That's why I'll find you,  
And I will rescue you,  
And I will save you from the dark  
_

'Do you need me to save you?' "Stupid yadonushi..." he murmured, shifting a bit as sleep was slowly claiming him.

"Bakura?" Malik asked, looking down at the thief. Marik motioned for him to be quiet, sharing his thoughts on what Bakura had said through their mind link.

"Always in trouble..." the pale yami mumbled, sniffing and nuzzling his arms.

_That's why I'll find you,  
And I will rescue you,  
And I will save you from the dark"_

As Petri sang the line one last time, Bast smiled and pulled away. Bakura hummed a bit, whispering the words as he fell asleep. "That's why I'll find you, And I will rescue you, And I will save you from the dark...Save you from the dark..."

* * *

AN: Random-Yes. Cannon-Maybe. I haven't gotten that far yet XD You'll have to wait and see.

And go look up this song on youtube and if you like it too you can download it there (there's a link in the video comments). Once again, it's called "I Will Save You From The Dark", by JC Van Luyn and Docjazz4. (repeating it here to make sure you saw it up there XD)

BTW: yadonushi, if you don't know, is Japanese for "host". It was something Bakura called Ryou. :p


	43. 4Koma Ideas

AN: Meh, I need to post something I suppose :p

I'll be out of town visiting my family for the next couple of days. I wanted to have the next chapter of SideQuest finished (as it really been a month since my last update?) but my bed was like "You want to slleeeeepppp". So instead you get some 4-Koma ideas I had jotted down.

4-Koma, by the way, is define as follows for those who don't know: "a comic-strip format, generally consists of gag comic strips within four panels of equal size ordered from top to bottom."

Anywho, I've got a bus to catch. I'll try to work on story ideas while I'm away when I'm not playing with my new-born Nephew or cuddling with my boyfriend! (ps, one of my sister's had a baby on the 15th so I'm officially an aunt and I have an official boyfriend. These are part of the reason that I've been too distracted to write recently even though they are both in Florida XD)

Hope you at least get a chuckle from these scenarios!

* * *

Ignorance Is Bliss (SideQuest)

"/Well that's what the guy said. Link and the Princess would never get married because the bloodline of the hero can't mix with the royal bloodline,/" Lia(1) shrugged, poking the campfire. "/It makes sense to me./"

"/I've never heard anything that said they couldn't be together,/" Petri countered. "/They could be together if they wanted to./"

"/Well the guy also suggested he would probably hook up with Malon./" Lia laughed, giving the blind harper a playful shove. "/Legend of Zelda could be a dating sim!/"

"/Maybe,/" Petri laughed. "/But then you'd have the fish-chick as an option. Bleh./"

"/She's cute when she grows up!/"

"/Ewwww! Link would totally hook up with Zelda. Maybe Malon, she was cute too./"

"/You're just saying that because she had bigger boobs than Zelda./"

Bakura listened to the pair as they continued talking back and forth for a while before finally becoming agitated. He stalked over to Rajan and tapped him on the shoulder.

"I don't want to learn anymore English."

Rajan blinked at the thief curiously. "Why not? What痴 wrong?"

Bakura jerked a thumb in the direction of the two younger members of their group. "I don't know a lot, but I know enough now to know that I'm happier not understanding what they're talking about."

The blond walked over to Petri and Lia, resting his hands on his hips. "/Hey, stop being nerds. You're scaring my student./"

"/I heard that!/" Bakura snapped.

* * *

Oh Marik...  (SideQuest)

Marik grinned, pleased with himself that he'd succeeded in catching some fish for dinner. It wasn't much and they were on the scrawny side, but they'd make a decent meal. He gathered up the fish, glancing to his discarded clothing and deciding to come back for it, not wanting it to get wet or smell like fish. He made his way back to the campfire. He expected the others to be happy to see him armed with fresh fish.

He didn't expect the screaming. Bakura laughed, throwing his head back and covering his eyes with his hands.

Petri looked around curiously. "What? What's wrong?"

"Marik, _please_ at least...cover yourself or put on pants," Malik groaned, his eyes closed and pinching the bridge of his nose.

Marik looked down, not seeming to see a problem with his nudity. They were all men, after all. They all had the same equipment.

"Hooray for being blind!" Petri cheered, thrusting his fists in the air.

"We all are now," Yugi grumbled.

* * *

Atem vs Meta (the still unnamed sequel to Hikari to Yami no Enishi)

"I am impressed that you have made it this far," Meta smiled darkly, clapping his hands slowly, the sound sharp and echoing off the golden walls of the throne room. His lone violet eye glittered darkly, the Millennium Eye resting in the adjacent socket staring stoically at the group. "It is a shame that it ends now. Let us settle this in a way you are more familiar: With a children's card game!"

"So be it," Atem replied, stepping forward and drawing his deck from his back pocket. He paused, seeing the deck that Meta held. "Wait...those don't look like Duel Monster's cards..."

The dark Pharaoh raised a brow. ""Duel Monsters"? What nonsense are you spouting? There is no such game. There is only Magic: The Gathering!"

"Magic the what now?"

* * *

(1) Lia hasn't appeared yet in SideQuest. The only hint I'll give you about her is that she's NOT an original character, just a renamed/reincarnated character. :3


	44. Malik the Pooh?

AN: Hooray I'm back in town!

And still no update on a main story...but I can post this! It actually did pretty well on deviant art so I figure it's safe to post here.

I DO NOT OWN LION-MARIK. That is, once again, KitsuneKittis' idea and I still think you should look her up on deviant art. I also don't own Yu-Gi-Oh but you knew that.

I also don't own Winnie-The-Pooh but I might own the idea in this story...maybe...it's been bouncing around in my head XD No worries though, I have two pages of SideQuest typed up so far. I almost had a full chapter and scrapped it before I left town because I decided that the scene I was building up to was too soon. I'll add it later and it'll be awesome. What will be in the chapter is something I was going to push off for another chapter of two but you know what, it'll be fine :3

Anyway, posting this made for an excuse to update you on stuff. Like that I got to bottle-feed mah two-week-old nephew, was "wined and dined" (well, minus the wine since we don't drink XD) by my boyfriend, and I got to see Toy Story 3, which I highly recommend seeing. So I had a fun weekend, hope you all did the same.

Well, fun except for the bus ride to and from Florida. I was dead tired yesterday and for half of today. Which means I probably won't do any more writing tonight. But I get off work pretty early in the afternoon tomorrow so hopefully I can focus more on my stories and less on other distracting things XD

Enjoy! :3

* * *

Marik woke from a pre-lunch cat-nap in his favorite tree to find he was somewhere else entirely. The tanned lion looked around the unfamiliar woods below him before hopping down from his perch and landing on something soft that made a startled "ouch" noise.

"O-oh n-n-no!" another voice cried. The lion first looked to see what he had landed on and was startled to find a familiar face.

"Oh bother," the young man muttered. He wore a yellow, over-stuffed bear suit with a red shirt, a padded hood pulled up around his face, sand-blond bangs poking out from under the hood. "Marik why do you always do that? Could you...oh...you aren't Marik," the blond man finally noticed, tilting his head.

"Oh d-d-d-dear dear, Malik, are you o-o-o-k?" the other man asked coming into view and fidgeting nervously. He, too, was a familiar face wearing a strange animal suit: a pink piglet wearing a red striped top with a food pulled up so the only his face and bangs were visible.

"Malik? Ryou?" the lion wondered, rubbing his eyes. When their appearances didn't change, he tried pinching himself.

"Could you please get off of me mister Marik-looking-person?" Malik asked. "You're sitting on my tummy."

"Eh...er...yeah..." Marik replied, getting off and helping the other man to his feet.

"That's better," the bear-suited man sighed, dusting himself off. "Now then...um...who are you?"

"My...name is Marik," the lion replied.

"Oh?" Malik raised a brow, folding one arm over his chest and raising the other hand to his temple, tapping his lightly.

"O-o-o-h d-d-dear me oh my, he does l-look like Marik," Ryou stammered.

"And he pounces like Marik too," Malik hummed, tapping his temple a bit more firmly.

"Ex-excuse me, M-marik," Ryou began, shyly looking up at the lion. "Wh-where did you come from?"

"The Nightmare Circus...where am I now? And who are you?" Marik asked, trying to remain calm. 'How many portals to other worlds does Akefia have?'

"O-oh! H-how rude of us," Ryou smiled. "M-my name is Ryou but everyone calls me P-p-piglet. And th-this is my best friend, M-malik the P-pooh. And this is the Hundred Acre Woods. But I've never h-heard of a circus around here...Have you Malik?"

"No...No I think we'd have remembered hearing of that," Malik shook his head and lowered his arms. "But it sounds like something a certain rabbit might know about. Come on Marik-number-two! Let's go ask him!"

Both Malik and Ryou grabbed the lion's arms, half dragging half leading him along a dirt path. Marik sighed, deciding that it would probably be the fastest way home.

After walking for a while the trio heard shouting and colorful swearing.

"Sounds like Marik-number-one is bothering Bakura again," Malik laughed.

"O-oh d-d-dear," Ryou whimpered. "We sh-should hurry then before they do-" he lowered his voice to a whisper "-you know what."

"What?" Marik asked, but the pair released him and ran on ahead. When the lion caught up he saw a small vegetable garden, several of the plants ripped form the ground and thrown around, a wheel barrow upturned, and Malik and Ryou trying to keep two others separated.

"You fucking cat, I'll rip that tail off and stuff it so far up your ass-" the Bakura-look-alike was shouting. He was a padded suit as well but instead of a hood he only wore a headband with long rabbit ears on it. He held a rake in one hand and shook it threateningly, Ryou attached to his other arm and trying desperately to hold him back.

"Oh Baku-bunny, you always say the kinkiest things!" his look-alike crowed, happily keeping his distance. He wore an orange and black tiger suit and a head band with matching ears.

"I'm not a bunny you bloody twat!" Bakura growled, wrenching his arm loose and charging at tiger-suited Marik. "I'm going to fuck you with the business end of this rake!"

"Oh Baku, you know I'm not a masochist," tiger-Marik grinned, easily escaping Malik and meeting Bakura half-way, dodging the rake and grabbing the handle. "But you are."

"If you think you're getting anywhere near me for the next month-"

"Um...guys?" Malik called, trying to get their attention.

"If you think you could keep me away from that ass-"

"P-p-please s-st-stop, w-we have a p-problem a-and need help," Ryou tried, hovering nervously behind Bakura.

The tanned lion sighed, rubbing the back of his head and contemplating his options when another, familiar voice boomed "What's going on over here?"

"Oh fuck it's Akefia," Bakura cried, running for a door that lead into a hill. The stopped when a knife struck him in the back and laid still.

"Deal with you in a minute," the voice said again. An Akefia look-alike appeared hearing a tight red shirt with white trim and a pair of black jeans. "What's going on here?"

"Nothing boss," tiger-Marik purred, moving to sit at Akefia's feet innocently. He yelped as he was kicked.

"Malik, where's my honey?" the tan man demanded.

Ryou hid behind Malik, who cringed and was trying to hide behind the wheelbarrow. "I...um..." he trailed off, ducking down as Akefia stormed closer.

"You fucking ate my honey again didn't you?" Akefia growled, kicking the wheelbarrow aside and grabbing Malik by the front of his bear suit. "What did I tell you last time?"

"I...forget..." Malik confessed, squirming and grabbing at the hand that held him. His efforts were doubled when a knife appeared in the other man's hand. "W-wait! I'll get you more!"

"Too late for that, runt," Akefia growled, slashing the belly of the bear suit open.

The lion found himself unable to move as the scene played out before him: the Akefia look-alike grinned madly as he ripped the stuffing out of Malik's bear suit before throwing him to the ground where he laid motionless among the mounds of white, fluffy "blood", Ryou crying beside him. Tiger-Marik had gone to Bakura's side and removed the knife from his back, which seemed to instantly heal the pale rabbit, and the pair disappeared through the door.

The Akefia turned to look at Marik, eying him for a moment before stalking closer, knife in hand. "What are you looking at kitty cat? I think it's time for you to go."

Marik jerked awake, inadvertently falling out of his tree. He laid on his back for a moment before dragging himself to his feet, groaning and rubbing his head. Something hit him on the head and he whirled around, growling and ready to fight. When he didn't see anyone there, he looked down at what had hit him: a children's story book he had found and had been flipping through before falling asleep.


End file.
